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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: chair · snap · suit · game · sharp · ground · stand · bark

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. suit — to fit
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — to shout
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. suit — in cards
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. sharp — clever
  14. snap — to click
  15. stand — to bear
  16. ground — crushed
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ground — a position
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ground — the earth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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