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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 · pitch · current · shower · wake · last · file · branch

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. current — happening now
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. branch — a division
  6. wake — a trail
  7. shower — rain
  8. pitch — completely
  9. last — to go on
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. file — a tool
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. last — finally
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. current — electric
  16. swing — to play on
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — to wash
  19. last — final
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. swing — in golf
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. file — a line of people
  24. swing — music

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