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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · key · cold · squash · net · club · firm · mouse

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. net — after costs
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. game — a match
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. key — in music
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. firm — a company
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cold — an illness
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — for a lock
  18. firm — steady
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — to crush
  21. club — for golf
  22. firm — decided
  23. game — wild animals
  24. club — a group

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