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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 · jam · clip · chip · mine · racket · capital · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. capital — money
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mine — for digging
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. chip — to eat
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. capital — a city
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. clip — a video
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. chip — for betting

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