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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cue — for pool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. net — in sport
  6. cue — a signal
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. shower — rain
  11. dip — to sink
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — a lid
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. net — after costs
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cue — a hint
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cap — of ice
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. chest — a box
  24. net — for catching

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