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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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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: bowl · season · snap · pit · suit · game · mine · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. content — happy
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. game — wild animals
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. season — in sport
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. suit — to fit
  17. content — the amount
  18. suit — clothes
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. snap — to click
  21. mine — for digging
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — a match

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