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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: mug · face · can · chair · march · tear · race · tube

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — to rip
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mug — a face
  7. march — the month
  8. tear — from crying
  9. can — a tin
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. can — a tin
  14. mug — to rob
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. race — a contest
  18. mug — a cup
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. face — to confront
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. march — music
  24. race — humankind

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