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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 120 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: deal · cap · mug · arm · band · pitcher · race · cold

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a music group
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. band — a ring
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mug — a cup
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. deal — to handle
  14. cold — an illness
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mug — a face
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cap — a lid
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. mug — to rob
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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