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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: ruler · season · mate · fan · kid · clip · suit · pit

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — for paper
  4. season — of the year
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. kid — child
  14. pit — a hole
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. suit — in cards
  19. season — in sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. suit — clothes

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