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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 · court · field · cabinet · band · date · current · pass

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. court — for sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. field — farmland
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. field — a subject
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bass — low music
  9. band — a ring
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. band — a music group
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. court — of a king
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. field — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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