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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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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: bank · prune · chair · kid · chest · bound · band · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. band — a ring
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. band — a music group
  9. chest — of your body
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bound — certain
  16. chair — a leader
  17. kid — child
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bank — for money
  20. bound — obliged
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. prune — to trim

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