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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: game · pop · mate · wound · pit · cap · deal · tear

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — a match
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cap — a lid
  10. tear — from crying
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pit — in a race
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — soda
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pit — a hole
  23. mate — a friend
  24. deal — to handle

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