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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 120 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: mate · clip · swing · key · bat · current

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. current — electric
  3. clip — a video
  4. key — for a lock
  5. mate — a friend
  6. key — the most important part
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. current — of water
  12. clip — to cut
  13. current — happening now
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. key — in music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bat — for baseball

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