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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: tear · tube · chair · club · bear · file

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a line of people
  5. club — a group
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tube — a container
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. file — a document
  12. bear — the animal
  13. club — for golf
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. chair — a leader
  18. file — a tool

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