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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.

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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: can · net · ground · cold · snap · staff · squash · march

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. march — the month
  3. can — to be able to
  4. net — after costs
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. ground — crushed
  9. march — music
  10. can — a tin
  11. staff — a stick
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ground — a position
  15. march — the month
  16. can — a tin
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. net — for catching
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ground — the earth
  22. net — in sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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