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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: chair · hand · wound · staff · board · root · mark · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mark — a grade
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. staff — employees
  6. mark — a trace
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. staff — a stick
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. band — a music group
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. root — of a word
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — to get on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. staff — employees
  23. root — the cause
  24. board — a committee

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