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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: prune · charge · clip · season · pop · jam · chest · pitcher

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — to trim
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — a price
  7. clip — a video
  8. charge — in control
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pop — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. chest — a box
  20. pop — soda
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. pop — to visit

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