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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: rush · deal · cue · current · race · pop · land · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. land — ground
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pop — soda
  7. cue — a signal
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. land — a country
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cue — for pool
  13. deal — to handle
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pop — music
  16. land — to come down
  17. current — of water
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pop — to visit
  20. current — electric
  21. rush — hurry
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. current — happening now

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