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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: bank · current · nail · bat · row · file · tear · march

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. march — music
  4. bank — for money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bank — of a river
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — to rip
  10. march — the month
  11. current — happening now
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bat — the animal
  14. file — a document
  15. tear — from crying
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bank — for money
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. row — a line
  24. nail — for a hammer

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