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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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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 · cell · wind · chair · row · pound

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. row — a line
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cell — in biology
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wind — moving air

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