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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: key · cold · kick · face · wind · cap · shower · chip

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wind — moving air
  4. shower — to wash
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cold — not warm
  10. shower — rain
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. key — in music
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kick — in football
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chip — to eat
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cold — an illness
  24. face — to confront

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