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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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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: deal · track · row · race · key · squash · jam · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. track — to keep track
  3. squash — to crush
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. key — in music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. squash — the sport
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. race — humankind
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. key — the most important part
  16. row — to paddle
  17. race — a contest
  18. row — a line
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. deal — to handle
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. race — the arms race
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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