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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: hand · row · face · current · wake · bass · temple · cold

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bass — low music
  4. current — happening now
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. row — a line
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cold — an illness
  16. current — of water
  17. row — to paddle
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. hand — help
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bass — the fish
  24. face — part of the head

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