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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: mug · stem · rock · court · swing · content · band · face

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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 — happy
  2. swing — to play on
  3. court — of a king
  4. rock — music
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. band — a ring
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mug — a cup
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. swing — in golf
  13. content — the amount
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. swing — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rock — a stone
  21. face — part of the head
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  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