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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: date · sharp · land · game · suit · wind · ground · pass

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. suit — clothes
  5. ground — the earth
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ground — a position
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — a permit
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. game — wild animals
  20. land — to come down
  21. wind — moving air
  22. suit — in cards
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wind — to turn a key

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