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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: mine · bowl · wave · current · spring · bat · clip · shower

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. clip — for paper
  11. shower — rain
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. mine — for digging
  14. clip — to cut
  15. current — electric
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. current — of water
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — a video
  24. bowl — a dish

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