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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: chip · stock · bat · mate · face · season · court · band

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. chip — for betting
  6. band — a ring
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chip — to eat
  11. season — of the year
  12. band — a music group
  13. mate — a friend
  14. stock — goods
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. stock — shares
  23. court — for sport
  24. band — a rubber band

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