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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 · rash · chip · bowl · tear · last · fall · current

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rash — a series
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. march — music
  6. chip — to eat
  7. current — happening now
  8. last — final
  9. march — the month
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. current — of water
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fall — the season
  18. current — electric
  19. march — the month
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chip — for betting

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