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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — magic
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. face — part of the head
  6. game — wild animals
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spell — letters
  10. cue — for pool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pound — a weight
  13. face — to confront
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. cue — a signal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. cue — a hint

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