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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 · fan · stock · chest · bass · band · pitch · rule

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. current — electric
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bass — low music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a ring
  7. stock — goods
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. current — of water
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rule — government
  14. stock — shares
  15. current — happening now
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. rule — a law
  20. chest — a box
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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