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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: foot · trunk · date · club · land · ground · saw · net

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. land — a country
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. club — for dancing
  7. net — for catching
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. land — to come down
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. ground — the earth
  14. club — a group
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — in sport
  17. foot — a measure
  18. date — the fruit
  19. ground — a position
  20. net — after costs
  21. land — ground
  22. saw — the tool
  23. club — for golf
  24. ground — crushed

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