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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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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. press — to push
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. suit — in cards
  12. rash — a series
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pit — a hole
  16. game — a match
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pit — in a race
  19. suit — clothes
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. saw — the tool
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bat — for baseball

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