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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: coach · race · pop · chip · mine · snap · rule · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. race — the arms race
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — a law
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rule — government
  7. race — a contest
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. chip — to eat
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pop — soda
  14. snap — to click
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pop — music
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. race — humankind
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chip — for betting
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rule — to rule out

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