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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: swing · clip · rash · sharp · mate · current · jam · track

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mate — a friend
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. rash — hasty
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. track — a song
  10. mate — a partner
  11. rash — a series
  12. sharp — clever
  13. current — of water
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — a video
  18. swing — in golf
  19. track — to keep track
  20. current — electric
  21. track — a path
  22. current — happening now
  23. mate — to breed
  24. swing — to play on

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