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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 · face · charge · pitcher · band · kid

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — to tease
  4. band — a music group
  5. hand — help
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. face — to point toward
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. face — part of the head
  11. charge — in control
  12. face — to confront
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. band — a ring
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kid — child

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