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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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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 · saw · chair · band · rule · last · game · chip

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. band — a music group
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chair — a leader
  6. band — a ring
  7. saw — the tool
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rule — a law
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. game — a match
  15. last — finally
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. last — to go on
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. last — final
  24. chair — a professorship

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