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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cue — a hint
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. file — a tool
  7. root — of a word
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. root — the cause
  13. shower — to wash
  14. file — a line of people
  15. face — to confront
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. face — part of the head
  18. root — of a plant
  19. file — a document
  20. cue — a signal
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. face — to point toward
  23. game — wild animals
  24. shower — rain

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