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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chair — a leader
  3. staff — a stick
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. band — a music group
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. squash — to crush
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. swing — to play on
  12. staff — employees
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. staff — employees
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bound — certain
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bound — tied together
  22. file — a document
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bound — obliged

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