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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: current · spring · tube · clip · game · shower · mate · face

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mate — a partner
  4. tube — a container
  5. clip — a video
  6. current — of water
  7. tube — the underground
  8. face — to confront
  9. spring — a coil
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — a match
  12. spring — of water
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. current — electric
  15. face — part of the head
  16. spring — the season
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. face — to point toward
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mate — to breed
  22. shower — to wash
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mate — a friend

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