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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 120 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 · chip · court · drill · content · ground · bay · band

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. court — of law
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. face — to confront
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chip — to eat
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chip — for betting
  12. court — for sport
  13. ground — a position
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. ground — crushed
  16. content — the amount
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — of a king
  20. band — a ring
  21. face — to point toward
  22. ground — the earth
  23. band — a music group
  24. chip — in a computer

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