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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 120 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 · ground · file · band · content · squash · face · sharp

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. content — the amount
  3. face — to point toward
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. file — a tool
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. file — a line of people
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. file — a document
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. face — part of the head
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. band — a music group
  17. ground — a position
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. kid — child
  20. band — a ring
  21. sharp — clever
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. squash — the sport
  24. kid — to tease

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