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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: content · cue · jam · clip · bowl · cold · staff · chest

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. chest — of your body
  7. content — the amount
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. cold — not warm
  11. clip — a video
  12. staff — employees
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. clip — to cut
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. content — happy
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cold — an illness
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cue — for pool

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