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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · clip · court · chip · prune · capital · perch · bass

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — for paper
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — the fish
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. capital — money
  10. perch — the fish
  11. court — for sport
  12. staff — employees
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. clip — to cut
  15. court — of law
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. clip — a video
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. court — of a king
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bass — low music
  24. prune — to trim

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