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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: field · content · face · rock · pitcher · band · rest · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. face — part of the head
  4. field — a subject
  5. band — a music group
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rock — music
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rest — what's left
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. content — the amount
  16. rest — a break
  17. content — happy
  18. field — farmland
  19. face — to confront
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — for sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. rock — a stone

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