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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: wound · cap · pitcher · cold · deal · rush · race · pop

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. deal — an agreement
  2. wound — an injury
  3. race — humankind
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. race — a contest
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rush — hurry
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pop — soda
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pop — music
  23. deal — a big deal
  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