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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: tear · tube · chair · chest · bear · pop · root · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pop — soda
  3. date — the fruit
  4. tube — a container
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chest — a box
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — music
  9. chair — a leader
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bear — the animal
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. pop — to visit
  23. root — of a word
  24. chest — of your body

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