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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: lash · wind · jam · content · bear · clip · row · bound

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. row — a line
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. row — to paddle
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bound — certain
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. clip — a video
  15. content — happy
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — tied together
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. content — the amount
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bound — obliged

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