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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: date · land · safe · trunk · swing · tear · mine · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. swing — music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — ground
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. land — to come down
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. tear — to rip
  17. date — the fruit
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. land — a country
  20. swing — to play on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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