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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 120 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: tear · spring · pitcher · rash · current · bass · chip · band

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chip — to eat
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. spring — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rash — a series
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spring — the season
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. band — a music group
  18. bass — low music
  19. band — a ring
  20. current — happening now
  21. bass — the fish
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chip — for betting
  24. current — of water

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