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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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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: face · bound · chip · tear · cold · bank · prune · object

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — certain
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. object — a thing
  5. face — to point toward
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bank — for money
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bank — for money
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. object — to protest
  14. chip — to eat
  15. tear — from crying
  16. object — an aim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. face — to confront
  21. bound — tied together
  22. chip — for betting
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bound — obliged

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