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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: cell · pitcher · fan · chip · clip · racket · prune · straw

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — to cut
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. clip — a video
  8. chip — to eat
  9. prune — to trim
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cell — in biology
  24. prune — to trim

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