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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 · last · ruler · game · tear · chip

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  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. last — final
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. chip — for betting
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. last — finally
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chip — to eat
  12. tear — to rip
  13. march — music
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. last — to go on
  17. ruler — for measuring
  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