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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: kid · current · cell · prune · face · ground · band · racket

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cell — in biology
  7. band — a music group
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. band — a ring
  10. prune — to trim
  11. current — electric
  12. ground — crushed
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. current — of water
  15. cell — a phone
  16. ground — the earth
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. face — to point toward
  19. current — happening now
  20. ground — a position
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. face — to confront
  24. racket — a loud noise

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