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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: chip · fall · tube · shower · hand · charge · tear · march

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — a container
  4. march — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chip — to eat
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tube — the underground
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chip — for betting
  17. march — the month
  18. charge — a price
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. charge — in control
  21. fall — the season
  22. charge — electricity
  23. shower — to wash
  24. tube — in a tire

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