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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: chest · shower · cue · pit · rock · club · file · root

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. root — the cause
  4. chest — a box
  5. club — a group
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pit — in a race
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rock — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cue — for pool
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cue — a signal
  15. pit — a hole
  16. chest — of your body
  17. file — a document
  18. root — of a word
  19. cue — a hint
  20. file — a tool
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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