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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 · wax · chair · stock · tear · pitcher · bark · bore

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stock — shares
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stock — goods
  9. chair — a leader
  10. tube — a container
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bore — to drill
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bore — to tire

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