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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: mine · degree · rush · current · drill · snap · club · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to click
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. content — the amount
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. club — for dancing
  12. current — electric
  13. club — for golf
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. drill — army training
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rush — hurry
  18. current — of water
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. club — a group
  21. mine — for digging
  22. current — happening now
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. degree — from a university

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