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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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468
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: dip · chair · bass · lean · object · leaves · pit · cold

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bass — low music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. object — an aim
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pit — in a race
  14. lean — thin
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. object — to protest
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. object — a thing
  24. dip — a sauce

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