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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: land · club · tube · saw · track · clip · date · mate

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. saw — the tool
  3. club — a group
  4. date — the fruit
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. land — a country
  7. mate — a friend
  8. tube — the underground
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tube — a container
  11. clip — a video
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mate — to breed
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. club — for golf
  17. track — a song
  18. mate — a partner
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. clip — to cut
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. track — a path

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