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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: stand · face · mug · spring · file · cold · cabinet · bass

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. spring — of water
  3. bass — the fish
  4. face — to point toward
  5. spring — the season
  6. file — a document
  7. stand — to bear
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mug — to rob
  14. file — a tool
  15. mug — a cup
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bass — low music
  20. cold — not warm
  21. file — a line of people
  22. face — part of the head
  23. mug — a face
  24. stand — on your feet

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