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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 120 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: snap · bat · wound · court · pitcher · prune · chip · bear

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bear — the animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. court — of law
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bear — the animal
  20. court — for sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — of a king
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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