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

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cue — a hint
  4. present — there
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. cue — a signal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. face — to confront
  10. chest — a box
  11. face — part of the head
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cue — for pool
  15. face — to point toward
  16. present — the time now
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cap — a hat
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. perch — the fish
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. perch — for a bird

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