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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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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: rule · wound · wind · bass · race · racket · current · march

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. march — the month
  3. race — humankind
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rule — a law
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — happening now
  11. bass — low music
  12. march — music
  13. race — a contest
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. current — of water
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. current — electric
  18. rule — government
  19. march — the month
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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