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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: race · kick · face · current · spell · branch · key · cold

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. face — to point toward
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. current — happening now
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spell — letters
  7. current — of water
  8. race — humankind
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. face — part of the head
  14. spell — a short time
  15. face — to confront
  16. key — for a lock
  17. branch — a division
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. current — electric
  22. kick — in football
  23. spell — magic
  24. key — in music

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