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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · kick · snap · hand · sharp · suit · club · press

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. sharp — clever
  5. snap — to click
  6. suit — clothes
  7. club — a group
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. game — wild animals
  12. club — for dancing
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. suit — in cards
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. press — to push
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. kick — in football
  24. club — for golf

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