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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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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: cold · bass · chest · stem · face · present · craft · track

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. track — a song
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. present — the time now
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. chest — of your body
  9. face — to confront
  10. stem — to come from
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. present — there
  15. face — to point toward
  16. present — a gift
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. track — a path
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. craft — boats
  22. chest — a box
  23. face — part of the head
  24. chest — of your body

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