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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: firm · cold · jam · clip · lean · ball · wake · wound

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — to cut
  5. firm — steady
  6. ball — a great time
  7. firm — a company
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. lean — thin
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wound — an injury
  12. firm — decided
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cold — not warm
  15. clip — a video
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. clip — for paper
  23. lean — to bend
  24. ball — a dance

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