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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: date · firm · lean · chair · kid · bay · cell · season

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. kid — child
  3. date — the fruit
  4. firm — a company
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. season — in sport
  8. chair — a leader
  9. season — of the year
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. firm — steady
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. lean — thin
  23. firm — decided
  24. cell — a phone

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