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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: dip · club · rest · chip · bay · lean · cold · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. club — for golf
  3. date — the fruit
  4. lean — thin
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. lean — to bend
  10. club — a group
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. cold — not warm
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rest — what's left
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to sink
  21. rest — a break
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. date — on the calendar

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