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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: tear · mug · tube · pitch · spell · kid · current · branch

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. current — of water
  3. mug — to rob
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. mug — a face
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tube — a container
  8. kid — child
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — magic
  12. branch — a division
  13. tube — the underground
  14. current — electric
  15. pitch — completely
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. current — happening now
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. mug — a cup

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