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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: clip · wake · jam · ground · coach · perch · wound · pitcher

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — to cut
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — a video
  8. ground — crushed
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ground — a position
  14. wound — an injury
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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