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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 · stand · ball · charge · chest · bass · branch · date

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. chest — of your body
  4. branch — a division
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. ball — a dance
  7. charge — electricity
  8. ball — a great time
  9. charge — in control
  10. date — the fruit
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — an illness
  13. charge — a price
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chest — of your body
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. chest — a box
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bass — the fish
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — not warm

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