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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. face — to confront
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cue — a hint
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. pop — soda
  10. drill — a practice
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. pop — music
  14. file — a tool
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pop — to visit
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cue — a signal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cue — for pool
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. file — a document

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