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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: mine · kid · date · lean · mark · chest · staff · leaves

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. staff — employees
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — to bend
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lean — thin
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chest — a box
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mark — a grade
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. kid — child
  23. date — the fruit
  24. leaves — of a tree

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