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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · rash · game · fan · current · chest · scale · tear

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — a match
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — happening now
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. current — of water
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tear — from crying
  14. scale — size or range
  15. chest — a box
  16. can — a tin
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. can — a tin
  19. current — electric
  20. rash — a series
  21. scale — in music
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — wild animals

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