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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: pitcher · tube · staff · stand · bark · track · chest · rush

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. track — a song
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. staff — employees
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. staff — a stick
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. tube — a container
  14. rush — hurry
  15. stand — to bear
  16. chest — a box
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. chest — of your body
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. staff — employees
  24. pitcher — a jug

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