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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: mate · trunk · straw · land · cabinet · date · clip · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. date — the fruit
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mate — to breed
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mate — a friend
  14. land — a country
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. mate — a partner
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. tube — a container
  24. cabinet — ministers

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