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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 · rush · bore · stock · cold · stand · bass · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — there
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bore — to drill
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stock — goods
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stock — shares
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. present — a gift
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bass — low music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bore — gave birth

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