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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 120 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: deal · rush · wound · race · cold · object · rash · pit

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. deal — to handle
  5. object — an aim
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — humankind
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. race — a contest
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. object — a thing
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — in a race
  23. wound — an injury
  24. object — to protest

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