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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 124 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: charge · bank · degree · cold · bound · face · bay · tear

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bound — obliged
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bound — tied together
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bank — for money
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. charge — a price
  13. cold — not warm
  14. charge — in control
  15. face — part of the head
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bank — of a river
  20. face — to confront
  21. bound — certain
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bank — for money
  24. tear — to rip

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