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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: fan · prune · row · chair · net · chip · bound · root

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. root — the cause
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. net — after costs
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. net — in sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. root — of a plant
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bound — certain
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. root — of a word
  18. row — a line
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. net — for catching
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fan — a supporter

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