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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: court · land · chip · stem · toast · mate · saw · tube

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. land — a country
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. court — of a king
  8. stem — to come from
  9. saw — the tool
  10. court — for sport
  11. land — ground
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — to eat
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — the underground
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tube — a container
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. land — to come down
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. mate — to breed
  24. court — of law

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