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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: mate · pitcher · clip · current · snap · capital · rock · track

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mate — to breed
  4. capital — a city
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. clip — to cut
  8. current — happening now
  9. clip — a video
  10. rock — a stone
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rock — music
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. track — a song
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — a friend
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mate — a partner
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rock — to move gently

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