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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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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: club · band · fork · content · current · race · drill · roll

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. roll — a cake
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. roll — a list
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. current — happening now
  9. drill — the tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. current — electric
  12. band — a music group
  13. race — humankind
  14. fork — in a road
  15. current — of water
  16. club — for golf
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. content — happy
  23. band — a ring
  24. club — a group

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