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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: chip · shower · degree · present · rash · drill · court · rush

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. present — there
  3. rush — hurry
  4. present — a gift
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. court — of a king
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chip — for betting
  11. court — for sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. shower — rain
  16. chip — to eat
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. shower — to wash
  22. present — the time now
  23. court — of law
  24. degree — temperature

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