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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · land · band · roll · current · field · firm · chair

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. land — to come down
  4. current — electric
  5. firm — decided
  6. current — of water
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bass — low music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. roll — a list
  11. land — a country
  12. field — a subject
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. field — for sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. chair — a leader
  17. band — a ring
  18. firm — a company
  19. land — ground
  20. firm — steady
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. field — farmland
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com