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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: cold · chair · bear · rock · pit · trunk · date · face

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chair — a leader
  3. face — to point toward
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pit — a hole
  11. face — part of the head
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pit — in a race
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. face — to confront
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. rock — music

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