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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: pitcher · patient · clip · root · chip · cell · fall · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. chip — for betting
  5. clip — for paper
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — a video
  8. cell — a phone
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. root — the cause
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. cell — in biology
  17. chip — to eat
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. fall — to drop
  21. prune — to trim
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fall — the season
  24. cell — in a prison

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