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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pop — music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. race — the arms race
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. drill — army training
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pop — soda
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. race — humankind
  15. can — a tin
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. drill — the tool
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. drill — a practice
  22. deal — to handle
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cold — an illness

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