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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: trunk · bass · face · march · band · lean · cold · roll

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. march — music
  5. face — to confront
  6. bass — low music
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. march — the month
  9. band — a music group
  10. face — part of the head
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bass — the fish
  14. march — the month
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. roll — a list
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lean — thin

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