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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · rush · fan · sharp · bound · chest · current · drill

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. land — to come down
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. drill — army training
  10. current — happening now
  11. bound — certain
  12. current — electric
  13. drill — the tool
  14. sharp — clever
  15. chest — a box
  16. bound — tied together
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bound — obliged
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. land — a country
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. land — ground
  23. drill — a practice
  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