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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: rash · pop · roll · pound · race · spring · capital · straw

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pop — music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pound — a weight
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. capital — a city
  13. pop — soda
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — money
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. race — a contest
  22. roll — a list
  23. rash — a series
  24. roll — a cake

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