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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.

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: lean · chest · rush · squash · cold · content · club · current

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. current — of water
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. squash — to crush
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. current — electric
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — to bend
  11. current — happening now
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. lean — thin
  22. content — the amount
  23. chest — a box
  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