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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 120 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: trunk · content · swing · cold · bat · stand · chair · pit

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. content — the amount
  4. bat — the animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pit — in a race
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. swing — music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chair — a leader
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. stand — on your feet

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