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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: pop · clip · cap · degree · row · snap · stock · mate

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. snap — to click
  4. stock — goods
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pop — to visit
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stock — shares
  10. mate — a partner
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pop — music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mate — to breed
  16. clip — a video
  17. degree — from a university
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mate — a friend
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pop — soda
  23. row — a line
  24. degree — temperature

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