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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: root · pound · trunk · pitcher · coach · chair · chest · date

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chest — a box
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chair — a leader
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. chest — of your body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. root — the cause
  22. chest — of your body
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pitcher — a jug

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