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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 116 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 · chair · current · wound · chip · shower · race · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. race — humankind
  3. wound — an injury
  4. race — a contest
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. object — an aim
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. object — a thing
  10. chip — for betting
  11. current — electric
  12. march — music
  13. current — happening now
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. race — the arms race
  19. march — the month
  20. current — of water
  21. chair — a leader
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. shower — rain

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