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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: face · club · band · spring · lean · court · track · content

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. court — of a king
  3. face — to point toward
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. spring — the season
  7. club — for dancing
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. band — a ring
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. face — part of the head
  13. track — to keep track
  14. court — of law
  15. lean — thin
  16. club — for golf
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. face — to confront
  19. track — a song
  20. content — happy
  21. lean — to bend
  22. track — a path
  23. content — the amount
  24. court — for sport

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