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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 116 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: ground · kick · row · mug · cap · cold · nail · key

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. ground — crushed
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. key — for a lock
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — the earth
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. key — the most important part
  10. mug — to rob
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mug — a cup
  14. row — to paddle
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ground — a position
  17. cold — an illness
  18. key — in music
  19. kick — in football
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — a line
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mug — a face
  24. cold — not warm

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