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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: toast · current · bay · branch · cold · tear · game · kick

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — a match
  5. kick — in football
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. toast — bread
  8. tear — to rip
  9. current — happening now
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. current — of water
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. game — wild animals
  20. cold — an illness
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. current — electric

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