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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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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: tube · hide · wake · fan · march · safe · bat · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wake — a trail
  6. tube — a container
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. march — music
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bat — the animal

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