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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: present · squash · current · chair · net · straw · land · nail

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. present — there
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. net — for catching
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — the sport
  11. land — ground
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. present — the time now
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. land — a country
  16. squash — to crush
  17. land — to come down
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. current — happening now
  21. chair — a leader
  22. present — a gift
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. current — of water

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