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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — for pool
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. scale — in music
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. face — to confront
  21. chair — a leader
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cue — a signal

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