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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: file · wound · bulb · shower · bass · branch · temple · current

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. current — of water
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. current — happening now
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. branch — a division
  14. file — a line of people
  15. shower — to wash
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. shower — rain
  19. bulb — for light
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. current — electric
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wound — an injury

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