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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: clip · land · press · date · capital · arm · jam · spell

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spell — a short time
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. clip — a video
  7. spell — magic
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. land — ground
  11. clip — for paper
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. land — a country
  15. clip — to cut
  16. date — the fruit
  17. capital — money
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. press — to push
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. press — newspapers
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. land — to come down
  24. spell — letters

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