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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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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 · patient · bark · roll · swing · cell · chair · bear

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. roll — a list
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bear — the animal
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. roll — a cake
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. cell — in biology

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