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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: face · hand · fine · band · degree · stick · spell · toast

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hand — in cards
  3. spell — letters
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. degree — an amount
  6. spell — a short time
  7. fine — all right
  8. band — a ring
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. face — to point toward
  11. fine — high quality
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. face — part of the head
  16. toast — bread
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. face — to confront
  20. spell — magic
  21. hand — help
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. hand — part of the body

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