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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: suit · root · cell · row · bat · chest · pit · date

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. root — of a plant
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cell — a phone
  5. root — the cause
  6. bat — the animal
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. root — of a word
  9. suit — clothes
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. row — to paddle
  13. suit — to fit
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. suit — in cards
  23. row — a line
  24. chest — a box

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