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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: current · tear · land · bass · swing · kid · rule · track

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. track — a song
  3. tear — from crying
  4. land — ground
  5. track — to keep track
  6. current — electric
  7. track — a path
  8. rule — government
  9. current — happening now
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. tear — to rip
  15. current — of water
  16. bass — the fish
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rule — a law
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. swing — to play on
  22. land — a country
  23. kid — child
  24. bass — low music

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