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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 116 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: patient · chip · rest · prune · snap · wind

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chip — to eat
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wind — moving air
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chip — for betting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chip — in a computer

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