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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: dip · arm · root · bark · swing · tube · land · mate

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. root — the cause
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. land — a country
  5. root — of a word
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bark — to shout
  8. land — ground
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. swing — in golf
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. root — of a plant
  17. tube — the underground
  18. swing — music
  19. land — to come down
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mate — a friend
  24. tube — a container

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