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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: ruler · shower · cold · cabinet · cap · wind

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cabinet — ministers

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