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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: field · coach · hand · stand · face · ground · wave · band

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. face — part of the head
  9. field — for sport
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. band — a ring
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. face — to point toward
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. hand — in cards
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. face — to confront
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. band — a music group

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