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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: cold · kid · cap · key · trunk · stem · ruler · shower

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. key — the most important part
  5. shower — rain
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. shower — to wash
  16. cap — of ice
  17. kid — child
  18. key — for a lock
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. key — in music
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cap — a hat
  24. trunk — of a tree

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