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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: swing · mate · snap · capital · bank · jam · pop · stem

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bank — for money
  5. mate — a friend
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pop — to visit
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pop — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pop — soda
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bank — for money
  16. swing — in golf
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. stem — to come from
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. swing — music
  22. snap — to click
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bank — of a river

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