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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: pit · wind · jam · clip · capital · lash · bear · wound

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pit — in a race
  8. capital — money
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pit — a hole
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. capital — a big letter

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