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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. chair — a leader
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cue — a hint
  7. club — a group
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cue — a signal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. club — for golf
  14. pit — in a race
  15. shower — rain
  16. pit — a hole
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tear — from crying
  21. snap — to click
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cue — for pool

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