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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: pitcher · cell · coach · trunk · cap · wind · snap · prune

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — in biology
  15. snap — to click
  16. cap — of ice
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — moving air

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