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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: rule · cap · fork · saw · hand · kid · chest · temple

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chest — a box
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. fork — in a road
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hand — help
  7. saw — the tool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rule — a law
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rule — government
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. kid — child
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cap — a lid
  24. hand — in cards

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