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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: content · bark · bat · degree · ruler · season · suit · pit

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. pit — in a race
  3. suit — in cards
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. suit — clothes
  7. content — happy
  8. season — in sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pit — a hole
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. season — of the year
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bat — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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