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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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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: stem · snap · tear · capital · land · firm

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. firm — decided
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stem — to come from
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. land — ground
  8. capital — a city
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. firm — steady
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. land — a country
  13. snap — to click
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. firm — a company
  16. capital — money
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down

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