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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: dip · snap · club · capital · spring · stem · arm · sharp

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spring — the season
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. spring — a coil
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. capital — a city
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. club — for golf
  14. dip — to sink
  15. spring — of water
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for dancing
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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