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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: squash · straw · race · net · pop · capital · rule · pass

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. squash — the sport
  4. capital — money
  5. pop — soda
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. capital — a city
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. race — humankind
  10. net — for catching
  11. pop — to visit
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pop — music
  14. net — after costs
  15. race — a contest
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rule — government
  20. pass — a permit
  21. rule — a law
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. net — in sport
  24. pass — to spend time

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