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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: branch · bear · pitcher · clip · firm · rash · chip · prune

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. firm — steady
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. firm — decided
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rash — a series
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bear — the animal
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. firm — a company
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — for betting

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