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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 120 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: face · firm · rush · chip · court · field · march · content

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. face — part of the head
  3. court — of law
  4. chip — to eat
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rush — hurry
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — steady
  9. face — to point toward
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. content — happy
  13. firm — a company
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. chip — for betting
  16. field — farmland
  17. face — to confront
  18. march — the month
  19. field — for sport
  20. march — music
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — a subject
  23. march — the month
  24. court — of a king

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