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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: tube · swing · present · trunk · date · court · kid · land

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tube — a container
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. swing — music
  7. present — the time now
  8. court — for sport
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — to tease
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. land — a country
  15. kid — child
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. land — to come down
  20. present — there
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. land — ground
  23. tube — the underground
  24. date — on the calendar

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