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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — in cards
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. fine — all right
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. current — of water
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — a video
  23. fine — high quality
  24. hand — help

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