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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: ball · chair · wind · chest · date · roll · season · bear

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. chest — a box
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — in sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. season — of the year
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. roll — a list
  14. chair — a leader
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bear — the animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. ball — a dance
  24. chair — to sit on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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