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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 120 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: content · chest · bank · rock · rush · row · file · rest

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. row — a line
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rest — a break
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rush — hurry
  13. file — a tool
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. content — the amount
  19. file — a document
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bank — for money
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rock — to move gently

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