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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: face · tube · fork · bank · cold · pit

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — of a river
  3. face — to confront
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tube — a container
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bank — for money

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