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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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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: jam · pitch · content · cap · fall · bowl · clip · march

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fall — the season
  6. cap — a hat
  7. fall — to drop
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cap — of ice
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. content — happy
  17. march — the month
  18. content — the amount
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. march — music
  23. cap — a lid
  24. march — the month

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