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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 116 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 · spell · kid · chair · prune · suit · snap · band

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. prune — to trim
  3. suit — clothes
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. net — for catching
  6. band — a music group
  7. suit — to fit
  8. suit — in cards
  9. kid — to tease
  10. band — a ring
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. snap — to click
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spell — letters
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. kid — child
  19. spell — a short time
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. chair — a leader
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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