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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: foot · tube · pitch · file · mine · chip · stock · march

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stock — goods
  3. chip — to eat
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. stock — shares
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tube — a container
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. march — music
  14. file — a tool
  15. chip — for betting
  16. file — a document
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — completely
  19. tube — the underground
  20. foot — a measure
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. foot — part of the body

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