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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: bay · current · jam · hand · clip · bound · pitch · chest

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — electric
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — a video
  10. current — of water
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. hand — help
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bound — certain
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bound — obliged
  22. chest — a box
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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