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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 · staff · bound · current · fan · kid · roll · cold

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bound — certain
  5. cap — of ice
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bound — tied together
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — a list
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. current — electric
  24. bound — obliged

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