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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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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: band · pop · jam · pitch · race · wound · leaves · snap

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. pop — to visit
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. band — a music group
  8. race — the arms race
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wound — an injury
  11. race — humankind
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pop — soda
  18. band — a ring
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pop — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. race — a contest

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