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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: track · clip · current · fall · bulb · club · shower · band

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. track — a song
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. clip — a video
  7. band — a ring
  8. shower — rain
  9. fall — to drop
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. current — happening now
  13. club — a group
  14. track — a path
  15. club — for dancing
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. band — a music group
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fall — the season
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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