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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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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: face · straw · land · pitcher · rush · shower · bear · cue

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. face — part of the head
  3. land — to come down
  4. cue — for pool
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. face — to confront
  7. bear — the animal
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cue — a signal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. land — a country
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rush — hurry
  16. land — ground
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cue — a hint
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. face — to point toward
  22. shower — rain
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitcher — a jug

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