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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: lean · current · file · march · clip · dip · spring · wake

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. clip — for paper
  5. current — happening now
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. file — a tool
  9. march — music
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. file — a document
  12. spring — the season
  13. file — a line of people
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. march — the month
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — a trail
  24. lean — to rest against

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