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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: chip · rule · cap · ruler · land · shower · cold · fan

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cap — a hat
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. land — a country
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cap — of ice
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. land — ground
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chip — for betting
  13. shower — rain
  14. rule — a law
  15. land — to come down
  16. rule — government
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. chip — to eat
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — an illness

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