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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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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: march · dip · cap · cold · kid · face · key · pop

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cap — a lid
  3. face — part of the head
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pop — soda
  10. cap — of ice
  11. face — to confront
  12. cold — not warm
  13. march — the month
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a hat
  18. march — music
  19. dip — to sink
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pop — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. key — the most important part
  24. dip — to dunk

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