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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: last · arm · date · tube · chest · perch · cell · pitcher

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chest — a box
  3. cell — in biology
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. tube — the underground
  10. last — finally
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — final
  13. tube — a container
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. last — to go on
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cell — a phone

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