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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 · wake · court · coach · fine · tear · march · cell

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fine — all right
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wake — a trail
  5. march — the month
  6. court — of law
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. court — for sport
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fine — high quality
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tube — the underground
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cell — a phone
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of a king
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. march — music

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