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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: band · chip · cold · cap · fan · bear · game · ruler

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cap — a hat
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cap — a lid
  6. game — a match
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cap — of ice
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chip — for betting
  13. game — wild animals
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cold — not warm
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bear — the animal

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