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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: kid · race · board · rock · pop · cap · squash · net

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. squash — to crush
  3. kid — child
  4. rock — music
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cap — a hat
  7. net — in sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. net — for catching
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. squash — the sport
  12. race — humankind
  13. net — after costs
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. pop — soda
  17. cap — a lid
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pop — music
  21. race — a contest
  22. rock — a stone
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pop — to visit

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