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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: field · bat · bass · current · key · race · fine · march

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. fine — all right
  3. field — for sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. field — farmland
  8. march — music
  9. race — humankind
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — the animal
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. current — happening now
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. race — the arms race
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bass — the fish
  22. current — electric
  23. race — a contest
  24. key — in 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