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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 · race · current · cap · pop · stock · wake · chest

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wake — a trail
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. cap — of ice
  6. race — a contest
  7. current — happening now
  8. chest — of your body
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. current — electric
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. current — of water
  20. pop — soda
  21. chest — a box
  22. stock — goods
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. pop — music

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