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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: kid · cap · cell · wound · cold · ruler

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kid — child
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — a lid
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ruler — a monarch

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