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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: band · object · snap · court · rush · face · spell · cell

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. cell — a phone
  3. spell — letters
  4. object — to protest
  5. band — a music group
  6. snap — to click
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — a thing
  10. court — of law
  11. rush — hurry
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cell — in biology
  14. court — for sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. face — to confront
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. face — part of the head
  19. spell — magic
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. spell — a short time
  22. court — of a king
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. band — a ring

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