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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: land · bay · chair · sharp · march · tube · tear · racket

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. march — the month
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. march — the month
  6. land — a country
  7. sharp — clever
  8. tube — a container
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. land — to come down
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chair — a leader
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. land — ground
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tear — to rip
  21. march — music
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bay — a horse colour

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