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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: cold · trunk · game · root · band · date · cue · craft

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. cue — a signal
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. date — the fruit
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — a skill
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. band — a ring
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. craft — boats
  16. game — a match
  17. band — a music group
  18. cold — an illness
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cue — a hint
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cue — for pool
  24. trunk — of a car

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