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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. track — a path
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. track — a song
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pit — a hole
  12. track — to keep track
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pit — in a race
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. cap — of ice
  21. staff — employees
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. drill — the tool

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