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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: field · clip · charge · jam · cap · pitcher · firm · row

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cap — a hat
  3. charge — electricity
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — farmland
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. field — for sport
  9. cap — a lid
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — decided
  12. row — to paddle
  13. clip — for paper
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. clip — a video
  16. field — a subject
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. row — a line
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. firm — a company
  22. charge — a price
  23. cap — of ice
  24. charge — in control

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