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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: wind · sharp · prune · rock · chair · chest · season · craft

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. sharp — clever
  4. season — of the year
  5. chest — a box
  6. rock — a stone
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. season — in sport
  15. rock — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — to move gently
  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