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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 116 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: wind · swing · band · current · root · mug · clip · file

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — electric
  3. mug — to rob
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — for paper
  7. file — a line of people
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — of water
  11. band — a music group
  12. root — the cause
  13. mug — a cup
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — a video
  16. band — a ring
  17. root — of a word
  18. clip — to cut
  19. file — a document
  20. swing — in golf
  21. file — a tool
  22. mug — a face
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wind — to turn a key

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