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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
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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: game · spring · capital · present · snap · jam · stock · kid

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. game — a match
  3. capital — money
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. present — the time now
  7. stock — shares
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — to tease
  10. spring — a coil
  11. present — a gift
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. snap — to click
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. spring — the season
  19. stock — goods
  20. present — there
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — child
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. spring — of water

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