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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: wave · squash · clip · current · lie · bound · last · file

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. last — finally
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bound — tied together
  9. squash — to crush
  10. clip — a video
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. current — happening now
  15. last — final
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. file — a document
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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