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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chip — for betting
  4. race — the arms race
  5. band — a music group
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. content — the amount
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. root — the cause
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a ring
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. race — a contest
  19. root — of a plant
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. content — happy
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. race — humankind
  24. root — of a word

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