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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: cap · chair · tube · roll · coach · cold · mine · ruler

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tube — the underground
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chair — a leader
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tube — a container
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. mine — for digging
  20. roll — a list
  21. cap — a lid
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. roll — a cake

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