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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 120 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: face · chair · band · pit · bark · stick · tube · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. band — a ring
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. band — a music group
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pit — a hole
  17. tube — a container
  18. face — to confront
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cue — for pool
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pit — in a race

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