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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: kick · face · cold · coach · bank · mine · tear · current

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. tear — from crying
  4. face — to point toward
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. face — to confront
  7. kick — in football
  8. current — of water
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bank — for money
  11. current — happening now
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. current — electric
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mine — for digging
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mine — belonging to me

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