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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 · pitcher · fall · bay · march · cabinet · hand · squash

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. hand — in cards
  10. march — music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. march — the month
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fall — to drop
  15. squash — the sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fall — the season
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tube — a container
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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