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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.

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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: pop · band · hide · chair · file · wave · craft · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chair — a leader
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pop — music
  14. band — a music group
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. band — a ring
  19. pop — soda
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pop — to visit

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