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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: board · race · mine · bass · chair · prune · dip · rush

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. board — to get on
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chair — a leader
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. race — a contest
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bass — low music
  20. dip — to sink
  21. board — a committee
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. rush — hurry

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