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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: kid · wake · cabinet · mate · branch · face · mine · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. face — to confront
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. kid — child
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mine — for digging
  22. branch — a division
  23. mate — to breed
  24. branch — of a bank

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