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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — wild animals
  6. suit — in cards
  7. wind — moving air
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. suit — clothes
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. scale — size or range
  16. press — to push
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. game — a match
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. scale — in music

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