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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 120 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: straw · tube · pitcher · spell · chair · stand · march · tear

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. tear — to rip
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spell — a short time
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. march — music
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. spell — magic
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. march — the month
  15. stand — to bear
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chair — a leader
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tube — a container
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spell — letters

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