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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — for pool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — rain
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. face — to point toward
  14. tear — to rip
  15. chest — a box
  16. face — to confront
  17. wake — a trail
  18. game — a match
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — a signal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — wild animals

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