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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: pop · cap · face · ruler · hide · race · tear · club

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. club — for dancing
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for golf
  6. pop — music
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. race — humankind
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. face — to point toward
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pop — soda
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pop — to visit
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. race — the arms race

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