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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: court · wave · bank · file · rush · mark · shower · march

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. file — a line of people
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. shower — rain
  7. file — a document
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. march — the month
  10. bank — for money
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. court — for sport
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. march — the month
  15. bank — of a river
  16. court — of law
  17. march — music
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. file — a tool
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bank — for money
  23. court — of a king
  24. rush — a thrill

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