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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: present · racket · drill · mouse · tear · chest · coach · tube

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. present — a gift
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. chest — of your body
  16. drill — army training
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. present — the time now
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tube — the underground
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. chest — a box

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