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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: land · bass · bank · drill · hand · current · band · pitcher

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. land — ground
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. current — of water
  6. land — a country
  7. band — a ring
  8. bass — the fish
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bass — low music
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hand — help
  20. bank — for money
  21. drill — a practice
  22. land — to come down
  23. band — a music group
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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