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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: squash · club · clip · current · shower · mine · spring · pound

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. shower — rain
  3. clip — a video
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. squash — to crush
  6. current — happening now
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spring — of water
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pound — a weight
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. club — for golf
  17. current — of water
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mine — for digging
  20. club — for dancing
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. current — electric
  23. shower — to wash
  24. club — a group

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