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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 · pop · jam · land · staff · rock · capital · clip

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. staff — a stick
  4. land — a country
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rock — a stone
  7. mate — to breed
  8. staff — employees
  9. mate — a partner
  10. capital — a city
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. rock — music
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. pop — music
  19. clip — for paper
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — employees
  22. pop — to visit
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. pop — soda

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