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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
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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: prune · capital · band · date · rush · straw · land · chair

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rush — hurry
  3. band — a ring
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. prune — to trim
  6. date — the fruit
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. prune — to trim
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. land — ground
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. capital — a city
  17. land — a country
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. land — to come down
  20. chair — a leader
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. band — a music group
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. chair — to sit on

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