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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: kick · mug · tear · rest · club · cold · bank · row

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mug — to rob
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. club — a group
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tear — from crying
  14. row — a line
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bank — of a river
  18. mug — a face
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bank — for money
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rest — a break
  24. tear — from crying

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