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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 116 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: kid · tube · rule · pitcher · march · rash · stem · pit

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — music
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. tube — a container
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. pit — in a race
  16. tube — the underground
  17. pit — a hole
  18. rule — government
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. rash — a series
  22. march — the month
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rash — on the skin

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