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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: kid · stem · pop · capital · mate · kick · sharp · jam

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mate — to breed
  3. capital — a city
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. pop — soda
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. capital — money
  11. mate — a friend
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. mate — a partner
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kid — child
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. kick — in football
  22. kid — to tease
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. stem — a stem cell

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