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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: pitcher · chest · perch · arm · date · root

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. perch — the fish
  4. root — of a word
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. date — the fruit
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. root — the cause
  10. chest — of your body
  11. root — of a plant
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. date — on the calendar

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