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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: rush · file · shower · racket · current · drill · mark · content

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. drill — army training
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. shower — to wash
  7. file — a line of people
  8. current — electric
  9. content — happy
  10. rush — hurry
  11. drill — the tool
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. drill — a practice
  15. current — of water
  16. file — a tool
  17. mark — a grade
  18. file — a document
  19. shower — rain
  20. mark — a trace
  21. current — happening now
  22. content — the amount
  23. rush — to hurry
  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