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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 · prune · suit · clip · game · current · can · band

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. suit — clothes
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. suit — in cards
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — a video
  9. band — a music group
  10. clip — for paper
  11. prune — to trim
  12. game — wild animals
  13. clip — to cut
  14. can — a tin
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. game — a match
  17. can — to be able to
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. current — of water
  20. suit — to fit
  21. band — a ring
  22. current — electric
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. current — happening now

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