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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 · mate · march · trunk · bulb · current · squash · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. swing — music
  5. mate — a partner
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. swing — to play on
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. shower — rain
  12. bulb — for light
  13. swing — in golf
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. march — the month
  16. squash — the sport
  17. current — happening now
  18. squash — to crush
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. current — of water
  21. bulb — for light
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. current — electric
  24. trunk — of a tree

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