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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · row · tube · chair · pitch · mate · fan · track

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mate — to breed
  6. chair — a leader
  7. tube — a container
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. track — a path
  11. pitch — completely
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. track — to keep track
  17. land — ground
  18. row — a line
  19. land — a country
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — the underground
  23. row — to paddle
  24. track — a song

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