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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cue — for pool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. field — farmland
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a music group
  13. cue — a hint
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cue — a signal
  16. field — for sport
  17. track — a song
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. band — a ring
  24. track — a path

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