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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: cap · deal · squash · fall · jam · clip · mate · stem

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. mate — a friend
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fall — to drop
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mate — to breed
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. cap — a hat
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mate — a partner
  18. squash — to crush
  19. fall — the season
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. clip — for paper
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. deal — to handle

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