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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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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: firm · cold · ground · rush · kid · wake · pop · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. ground — a position
  4. wake — a trail
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. pop — music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pop — to visit
  12. firm — steady
  13. rush — hurry
  14. firm — a company
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. firm — decided
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. capital — a city
  20. pop — soda
  21. capital — money
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rush — a thrill

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