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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: clip · chip · jam · season · field · board · cap · last

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. last — final
  3. cap — a hat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cap — a lid
  6. last — to go on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cap — of ice
  11. field — a subject
  12. last — finally
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. season — of the year
  15. field — for sport
  16. season — in sport
  17. clip — a video
  18. chip — for betting
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. board — to get on
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. field — farmland
  24. clip — for paper

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