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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: fall · degree · net · game · lash · suit · sharp · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. degree — an amount
  3. game — a match
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. suit — in cards
  7. degree — from a university
  8. suit — clothes
  9. fall — to drop
  10. net — after costs
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. net — for catching
  14. suit — to fit
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fall — the season
  22. game — wild animals
  23. sharp — clever
  24. net — in sport

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