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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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Word bank
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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: cue · game · charge · spell · shower · face · calf · pit

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cue — a signal
  3. charge — a price
  4. cue — for pool
  5. face — part of the head
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. face — to confront
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. charge — in control
  16. spell — magic
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spell — a short time
  19. shower — rain
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pit — a hole
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. charge — electricity

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