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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: kid · date · jam · pit · lean · cell · foot · row

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. cell — a phone
  5. date — the fruit
  6. row — a line
  7. lean — to bend
  8. kid — to tease
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pit — in a race
  16. foot — a measure
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cell — in biology

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