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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mark — a grade
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spell — magic
  8. shower — rain
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mark — a trace
  13. face — to confront
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. cue — a signal
  17. spell — a short time
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spell — letters
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kid — child

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