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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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468
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: racket · face · club · pound · ground · chest · hand · ball

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — a position
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chest — a box
  6. face — part of the head
  7. club — for golf
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — a weight
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hand — help
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. club — for dancing
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. ground — the earth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ball — a great time
  24. club — a group

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