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

Word bank: content · rule · straw · prune · temple · chair · bank · row

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — happy
  3. bank — for money
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rule — a law
  11. row — to paddle
  12. content — the amount
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. prune — to trim
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. prune — to trim
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. row — a line
  21. bank — for money
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bank — of a river

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