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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: chip · trunk · capital · current · prune · straw · staff · clip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. staff — a stick
  3. prune — to trim
  4. current — happening now
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chip — to eat
  7. staff — employees
  8. clip — for paper
  9. capital — money
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. chip — for betting
  15. staff — employees
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. current — of water
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. current — electric
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. prune — to trim
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. capital — a city

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