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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. hand — help
  4. court — of law
  5. suit — in cards
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. hand — in cards
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. clip — a video
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. court — of a king
  16. rest — what's left
  17. court — for sport
  18. game — wild animals
  19. suit — clothes
  20. rest — a break
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — to cut
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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