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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: club · mouse · cue · chair · shower · chest · bear · drill

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. drill — the tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chest — a box
  18. cue — a hint
  19. drill — a practice
  20. shower — to wash
  21. club — for dancing
  22. drill — army training
  23. cue — a signal
  24. shower — rain

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