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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: jam · stem · clip · bore · squash · pop · march · lash

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. squash — the sport
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. march — music
  10. clip — a video
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. squash — to crush
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. march — the month
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. march — the month

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