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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: bass · mug · present · band · last · cold · staff · face

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. staff — a stick
  3. present — the time now
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bass — low music
  7. face — to point toward
  8. last — to go on
  9. staff — employees
  10. band — a ring
  11. present — a gift
  12. last — final
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mug — to rob
  16. band — a music group
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. last — finally
  20. mug — a cup
  21. face — to confront
  22. present — there
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bass — the fish

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