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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · present · land · date · jam · snap · clip · fan

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. clip — for paper
  3. snap — to click
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. land — to come down
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. clip — to cut
  11. present — there
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — a country
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. present — the time now
  18. land — ground
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. present — a gift
  21. capital — a city
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. date — the fruit
  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