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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: wound · mine · face · net · stand · band · coach · rash

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wound — an injury
  4. face — to point toward
  5. net — for catching
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. band — a ring
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rash — a series
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. rash — hasty
  20. net — in sport
  21. face — to confront
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. face — part of the head
  24. net — after costs

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