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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: key · kid · cold · ruler · ground · arm · cap · tube

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cap — a lid
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. key — in music
  15. tube — a container
  16. kid — child
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ground — the earth
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. key — for a lock

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