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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: leaves · face · land · net · band · track · pop · deal

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. band — a music group
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. face — to point toward
  5. track — a song
  6. deal — to handle
  7. land — to come down
  8. face — to confront
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pop — music
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. land — a country
  13. pop — to visit
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. track — a path
  17. band — a ring
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pop — soda
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. net — for catching

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