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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: rash · degree · pass · band · mouse · field · current · file

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. file — a tool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rash — hasty
  9. field — for sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. current — electric
  13. band — a ring
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. band — a music group
  16. file — a document
  17. pass — a permit
  18. rash — a series
  19. field — a subject
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. field — farmland
  23. current — of water
  24. pass — to spend time

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