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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: clip · bass · cap · march · content · field · roll · pitcher

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. march — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. content — happy
  7. field — a subject
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bass — the fish
  10. roll — a list
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bass — low music
  14. march — the month
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cap — a hat
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. field — for sport
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cap — of ice

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