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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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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: saw · mate · foot · tube · march · cold · chip · trunk

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mate — a friend
  6. foot — a measure
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. tube — a container
  9. saw — the tool
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. march — the month
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mate — a partner
  18. march — music
  19. mate — to breed
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chip — for betting
  24. march — the month

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