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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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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: band · chair · roll · court · face · chest · content · temple

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. chest — a box
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — of a king
  7. content — happy
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chest — of your body
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. roll — a cake
  13. face — part of the head
  14. band — a music group
  15. court — for sport
  16. face — to confront
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. content — the amount
  20. face — to point toward
  21. band — a ring
  22. court — of law
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. chair — to sit on

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