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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: date · trunk · arm · cold · pitch · root · suit · object

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. suit — to fit
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. object — an aim
  7. cold — not warm
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. date — the fruit
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pitch — completely
  14. object — a thing
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. root — of a word
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. root — of a plant
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. object — to protest
  23. suit — in cards
  24. root — the cause

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