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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: rush · content · band · plane · racket · sharp · shower · temple

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. band — a music group
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. band — a ring
  10. content — happy
  11. rush — hurry
  12. shower — to wash
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. plane — a tool
  18. sharp — clever
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. temple — a place of worship

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