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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: bank · net · root · face · mark · kid · row · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. root — of a plant
  5. net — after costs
  6. bank — of a river
  7. root — of a word
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bank — for money
  10. kid — to tease
  11. row — a line
  12. kid — child
  13. row — to paddle
  14. net — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bank — for money
  20. face — to confront
  21. cold — not warm
  22. net — for catching
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. root — the cause

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