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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · chest · prune · band · bowl · march · racket · chair

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. prune — to trim
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. march — music
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chest — a box
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spell — a short time
  11. band — a music group
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. march — the month
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — the month
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. spell — magic
  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