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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: clip · bowl · prune · cell · pitcher · present · lash · cap

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. clip — a video
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. present — there
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cap — of ice

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