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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 120 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: hide · cold · temple · ground · ruler · foot · mug · kid

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ground — a position
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mug — to rob
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. mug — a cup
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mug — a face
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. kid — child

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