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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: cap · ground · wound · rule · race · pop · can · net

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cap — a hat
  3. ground — the earth
  4. race — a contest
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. net — for catching
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cap — of ice
  10. net — after costs
  11. race — humankind
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. rule — government
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. can — a tin
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. net — in sport
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cap — a lid

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