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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: rush · current · straw · pound · board · bass · pop · cold

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. board — to get on
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. current — electric
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pop — soda
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. current — of water
  12. pop — music
  13. board — a committee
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pound — a weight
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bass — low music
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. rush — hurry
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. current — happening now
  24. straw — a straw man

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