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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · cue · firm · face · shower · nail · straw · chest

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. shower — rain
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cue — a hint
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. chest — a box
  8. face — to confront
  9. swing — to play on
  10. firm — steady
  11. swing — in golf
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. swing — music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — part of the head
  20. firm — decided
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. face — to point toward
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. straw — dry grass

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