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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. shower — rain
  4. rash — a series
  5. cue — a hint
  6. game — wild animals
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. mug — a face
  10. march — the month
  11. cue — for pool
  12. hand — help
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mug — a cup
  16. rash — hasty
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cue — a signal
  19. march — music
  20. face — part of the head
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. march — the month
  23. mug — to rob
  24. game — a match

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