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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: chair · march · row · net · bear · bound · prune · rest

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. row — a line
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — after costs
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. bound — certain
  12. bear — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. rest — a break
  16. row — to paddle
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rest — what's left
  19. prune — to trim
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bound — tied together

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