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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: band · root · face · arm · tube · ball · spring · court

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. face — to confront
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tube — the underground
  8. face — part of the head
  9. court — of law
  10. spring — a coil
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. root — of a plant
  13. tube — a container
  14. court — for sport
  15. root — of a word
  16. court — of a king
  17. spring — of water
  18. face — to point toward
  19. root — the cause
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. band — a ring
  23. ball — a great time
  24. band — a music 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