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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · cold · bass · march · current · net · chest · bank

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. current — happening now
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cold — an illness
  5. current — of water
  6. bank — for money
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — in sport
  9. bass — low music
  10. net — for catching
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bank — for money
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bass — the fish
  19. march — the month
  20. net — after costs
  21. bank — of a river
  22. face — to confront
  23. chest — of your body
  24. current — electric

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