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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: cap · clip · mark · field · calf · swing · jam · bat

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. mark — a trace
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — farmland
  5. cap — a hat
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cap — a lid
  9. field — for sport
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. cap — of ice
  12. swing — music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. field — a subject
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mark — a grade
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — to cut

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