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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: cold · deal · hand · bank · march · kick · saw · hide

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bank — of a river
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bank — for money
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. deal — to handle
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bank — for money
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. saw — the tool
  18. march — music
  19. cold — an illness
  20. hand — help
  21. kick — in football
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. kick — with a leg
  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