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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: chair · mine · band · wake · ruler · key · arm · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. key — the most important part
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. band — a music group
  8. key — in music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. key — for a lock
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. season — in sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wake — a trail
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. band — a ring

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