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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: rash · tube · march · bat · jam · current · shower · rest

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. tube — the underground
  3. current — electric
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. current — happening now
  6. rest — a break
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — rain
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. current — of water
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rash — a series
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. rash — hasty
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — the animal
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tube — a container
  24. bat — for baseball

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