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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.

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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: nail · squash · cap · race · chip · current · rest · content

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. content — happy
  3. current — happening now
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rest — a break
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. cap — a lid
  11. race — humankind
  12. chip — to eat
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cap — of ice
  17. current — of water
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rest — what's left
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. current — electric
  22. content — the amount
  23. chip — for betting
  24. content — videos and posts

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