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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: face · cold · rest · bank · bound · kick · cap · kid

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. face — to confront
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cold — an illness
  9. face — part of the head
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bank — for money
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bank — for money
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. kick — in football
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bank — of a river
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kid — child
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bound — certain
  24. rest — a break

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