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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: swing · stem · tube · march · pitch · tear

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tear — to rip
  3. march — music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. swing — in golf
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. march — the month
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. swing — to play on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. march — the month
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. swing — music
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell

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