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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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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 · ground · hide · band · cabinet · mate · net · pound

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. net — in sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. net — for catching
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pound — a weight
  18. band — a ring
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mate — to breed
  23. band — a music group
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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