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

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. suit — to fit
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. suit — in cards
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. suit — clothes
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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