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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cue — for pool
  3. face — to confront
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spell — letters
  6. drill — a practice
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cue — a hint
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — magic
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. hand — help
  18. cue — a signal
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hand — in cards
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. toast — bread
  23. face — part of the head
  24. nail — for a hammer

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