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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · bear · rock · can · foot · date

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. can — a tin
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bear — the animal
  12. can — a tin
  13. foot — a measure
  14. date — the fruit
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cold — the Cold War

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