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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 · bass · calf · trunk · racket · chair · stick · date

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bass — low music
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chair — a leader
  18. date — the fruit
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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