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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: last · cell · staff · game · wind · suit · content · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. last — final
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — happy
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — to fit
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. last — to go on
  12. staff — employees
  13. content — the amount
  14. game — a match
  15. last — finally
  16. staff — employees
  17. suit — clothes
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. staff — a stick

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