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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: content · mug · wound · stand · chair · band · mate · face

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. face — part of the head
  3. mate — a friend
  4. content — happy
  5. chair — a leader
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mug — to rob
  10. stand — to bear
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. face — to confront
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mug — a cup
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. content — the amount
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mug — a face
  21. band — a ring
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wound — an injury

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