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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: shower · cue · cold · ruler · kick · dip

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cue — a hint
  5. dip — to sink
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — not warm
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cue — a signal
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cue — for pool
  15. shower — rain
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cold — the Cold War

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