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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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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: chair · march · dip · lean · stem · pitch · band · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. band — a music group
  4. lean — to bend
  5. pitch — completely
  6. stem — to come from
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. march — music
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. tear — from crying
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. dip — to sink
  21. band — a ring
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. stem — a stem cell

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