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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. land — ground
  3. fine — all right
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cue — a signal
  8. fine — high quality
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cue — a hint
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cue — for pool
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. shower — rain
  16. chest — a box
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. land — a country
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bound — obliged
  21. land — to come down
  22. rest — a break
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bound — certain

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