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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 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. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. snap — to click
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — certain
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. suit — clothes
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — clever
  23. season — in sport
  24. suit — in cards

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