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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: wound · band · content · stock · plane · racket · face · rest

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. plane — a tool
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rest — a break
  6. face — to point toward
  7. band — a music group
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rest — what's left
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stock — shares
  14. content — happy
  15. face — part of the head
  16. band — a ring
  17. stock — goods
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. face — to confront

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