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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: mark · file · kick · fork · date · rush · band · drill

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mark — a grade
  3. rush — hurry
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. drill — a practice
  6. file — a document
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. file — a tool
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. kick — in football
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. mark — a trace
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. date — the fruit
  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