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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: clip · track · wind · wake · pitcher · current · fall · jam

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — happening now
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. track — a path
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — to drop
  17. clip — a video
  18. track — to keep track
  19. current — electric
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. track — a song

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