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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: march · tear · cold · swing · chip · track

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. track — a song
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — music
  7. track — a path
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. swing — to play on
  10. march — the month
  11. track — to keep track
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. chip — to eat
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cold — an illness
  17. swing — in golf
  18. tear — from crying

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