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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.

Make a worksheet

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: current · march · fan · object · wave · band · hand · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hand — help
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. march — the month
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. current — happening now
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. hand — in cards
  13. band — a music group
  14. current — electric
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. march — music
  18. current — of water
  19. band — a ring
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. object — a thing
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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