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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. mate — a partner
  3. clip — for paper
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. swing — to play on
  7. file — a tool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. swing — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rule — government
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. wake — a trail
  14. file — a document
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rule — a law
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mate — to breed
  21. clip — a video
  22. current — happening now
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wake — before a funeral

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