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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 116 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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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: trunk · face · cold · rush · tear · stand · bass · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. tear — to rip
  4. face — to point toward
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. board — to get on
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tear — from crying
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cold — an illness
  18. face — to confront
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — low music
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rush — a thrill

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