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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: present · pitcher · track · fork · rule · face · tear · tube

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tube — the underground
  3. face — to confront
  4. tube — a container
  5. present — there
  6. face — part of the head
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — to rip
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — to point toward
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. rule — a law
  16. present — a gift
  17. rule — government
  18. track — a song
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — a path
  22. present — the time now
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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