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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: tube · foot · cell · spell · tear · fan · march · swing

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. march — music
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cell — in biology
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — from crying
  10. swing — music
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. march — the month
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tube — a container
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. tube — the underground
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. swing — in golf

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