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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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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: stick · present · tube · chair · wake · tear

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wake — a trail
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. tube — the underground
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tube — a container
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wake — before a funeral

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