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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: tear · hand · tube · mark · bass · land · coach · dip

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. land — to come down
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. land — ground
  8. tube — a container
  9. bass — the fish
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. tube — the underground
  12. mark — a trace
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. dip — to sink
  18. hand — help
  19. mark — a grade
  20. land — a country
  21. bass — low music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. dip — a sauce

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