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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: net · firm · spell · bound · root · band · chair · wind

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bound — obliged
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wind — moving air
  6. firm — steady
  7. net — in sport
  8. root — the cause
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. firm — a company
  11. net — after costs
  12. root — of a plant
  13. spell — magic
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. firm — decided
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spell — letters
  19. bound — tied together
  20. net — for catching
  21. band — a music group
  22. bound — certain
  23. band — a ring
  24. root — of a word

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