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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: pop · bass · race · rush · cap · band · toast · chair

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. band — a ring
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. race — a contest
  9. pop — music
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bass — the fish
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bass — low music
  17. race — humankind
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — of ice
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. toast — bread
  22. pop — soda
  23. band — a music group
  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