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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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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: toast · content · court · kid · band · stick · face · mate

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. court — for sport
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. court — of a king
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. band — a music group
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. face — to confront
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — bread
  17. band — a ring
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mate — a partner
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. court — of law
  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