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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: spell · clip · current · squash · straw · bowl · shower · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. current — happening now
  6. clip — for paper
  7. spell — letters
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. clip — to cut
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. current — electric
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spell — magic
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spell — a short time
  22. clip — a video
  23. squash — the sport
  24. current — of water

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