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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: wind · bass · drill · race · suit · land · current · pop

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. suit — in cards
  3. current — happening now
  4. wind — moving air
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — to come down
  7. bass — the fish
  8. land — a country
  9. suit — to fit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — to visit
  12. race — humankind
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. suit — clothes
  15. drill — army training
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. drill — the tool
  18. current — electric
  19. pop — music
  20. race — a contest
  21. current — of water
  22. bass — low music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pop — soda

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