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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 120 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: wind · cold · dip · chair · branch · pass · kick · face

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chair — a leader
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kick — in football
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. face — to confront
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. face — part of the head
  13. branch — a division
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cold — an illness
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. face — to point toward
  24. chair — to sit on

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