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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: shower · clip · swing · lean · can · mate · mine · current

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. clip — a video
  4. mate — a friend
  5. current — electric
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lean — to bend
  10. shower — rain
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — music
  14. mate — a partner
  15. shower — to wash
  16. swing — in golf
  17. clip — to cut
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. current — happening now
  20. swing — to play on
  21. current — of water
  22. lean — thin
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mate — to breed

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