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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: pitcher · tube · ruler · row · content · wake · tear · land

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. content — happy
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wake — a trail
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. content — the amount
  10. row — a line
  11. tear — to rip
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. land — to come down
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tube — the underground
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tube — a container
  19. land — ground
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. land — a country
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. tube — in a tire

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