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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: bass · pop · tube · bat · jam · spring · last · current

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. bass — low music
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. spring — the season
  11. last — to go on
  12. pop — to visit
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. tube — a container
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. current — happening now
  17. spring — a coil
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — of water
  20. bass — the fish
  21. last — final
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. last — finally

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