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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: chair · bank · prune · wind · saw · band · lie · last

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. bank — of a river
  3. band — a ring
  4. prune — to trim
  5. last — final
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — finally
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bank — for money
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. band — a music group
  17. last — to go on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bank — for money
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chair — a leader

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