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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: leaves · pop · pitcher · cold · rush · race · net · jam

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pop — music
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. pop — soda
  7. net — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pop — to visit
  10. race — humankind
  11. net — for catching
  12. rush — hurry
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. cold — not warm
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. net — after costs
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. jam — a tight spot

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