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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: mark · perch · snap · clip · suit · stem · march · capital

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. march — the month
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. march — music
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. snap — to click
  11. suit — to fit
  12. march — the month
  13. clip — to cut
  14. suit — clothes
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. capital — a city
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. suit — in cards
  21. stem — to come from
  22. clip — a video
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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