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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. degree — from a university
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. degree — temperature
  9. content — happy
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. game — wild animals
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. season — of the year
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — a match

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