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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: tube · kick · cold · lean · pitch · jam · bark · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. lean — to bend
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. kick — in football
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. lean — thin
  15. tube — a container
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. tube — the underground
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — not warm

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