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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: ground · toast · face · court · band · jam · deal · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. band — a ring
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. court — for sport
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. face — part of the head
  9. hand — in cards
  10. court — of law
  11. deal — to handle
  12. face — to confront
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. ground — a position
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. court — of a king
  20. band — a music group
  21. toast — bread
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. face — to point toward

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