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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 116 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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — to visit
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — music
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. pop — soda
  9. file — a tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cold — not warm
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. field — a subject
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. file — a document
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. face — to confront
  24. row — to paddle

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