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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · march · tear · content · bass · bear · perch · tube

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — happy
  9. perch — the fish
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. content — the amount
  12. tube — a container
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bass — low music
  15. march — music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. march — the month
  19. bear — the animal
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. march — the month
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. tube — the underground

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