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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. face — to confront
  3. cue — a hint
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. face — to point toward
  7. game — wild animals
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wax — to grow
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cue — a signal
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. swing — to play on
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cue — for pool
  21. rash — a series
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. swing — music
  24. tube — a container

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