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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: wound · jam · snap · mate · current · row · clip · squash

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. current — happening now
  5. clip — to cut
  6. squash — to crush
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mate — a friend
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. current — electric
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mate — a partner
  17. current — of water
  18. snap — to click
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — a video
  24. squash — the sport

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