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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 · wound · jam · hand · cold · tear · mark · kick

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. wound — an injury
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bank — for money
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mark — a trace
  23. hand — help
  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