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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: chest · bowl · net · season · firm · straw

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. firm — a company
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chest — a box
  9. firm — steady
  10. chest — of your body
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. net — in sport
  14. firm — decided
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — 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