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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.

Words on the sheet
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: tube · date · stem · land · game · kid · saw · arm

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stem — to come from
  3. saw — the tool
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. saw — the tool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tube — the underground
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — to tease
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. kid — child
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. game — a match
  20. land — a country
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. tube — a container
  23. date — the fruit
  24. arm — a part of something

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