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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chair — a leader
  4. tube — a container
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. snap — to click
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. club — for golf
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. tube — the underground
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — rain
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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