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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: swing · current · can · last · bark · shower · clip · bowl

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. clip — to cut
  3. swing — in golf
  4. current — electric
  5. clip — a video
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. shower — rain
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. can — a tin
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. shower — to wash
  16. current — of water
  17. swing — to play on
  18. last — to go on
  19. swing — music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. can — a tin
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. can — to be able to

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