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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cue — a signal
  8. roll — a list
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. face — to point toward
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. roll — a cake
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. dip — to sink
  20. cap — a lid
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. face — to confront
  23. cue — for pool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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