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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: land · chip · clip · kick · racket · current · prune · swing

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chip — for betting
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. current — happening now
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. kick — in football
  12. current — electric
  13. land — ground
  14. prune — to trim
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. swing — music
  18. current — of water
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. chip — to eat
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kick — a thrill

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