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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 116 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: pop · squash · race · band · wind · spring · kick · chair

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. squash — to crush
  3. kick — in football
  4. spring — of water
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. pop — soda
  8. band — a music group
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — the sport
  12. race — humankind
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wind — moving air
  17. race — a contest
  18. pop — music
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pop — to visit
  24. race — the arms race

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