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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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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 · face · swing · current · rest · track · game · clip

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. track — a song
  3. clip — a video
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. current — electric
  6. clip — for paper
  7. swing — to play on
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rest — what's left
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. rest — what's left
  13. face — to confront
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. current — of water
  16. rest — a break
  17. swing — music
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. track — a path
  23. current — happening now
  24. track — to keep track

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