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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 · bass · board · band · prune · lie · last · ground

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. last — to go on
  3. board — to get on
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ground — crushed
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. board — a committee
  9. last — final
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ground — the earth
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. band — a music group
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ground — a position
  20. lie — to recline
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bass — low music
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. band — a ring

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