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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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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: squash · club · hand · plane · wind · spell · net · ground

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ground — crushed
  8. spell — a short time
  9. ground — the earth
  10. spell — magic
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. ground — a position
  14. hand — help
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spell — letters
  17. squash — to crush
  18. club — for golf
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. club — a group
  22. squash — the sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. wind — to turn a key

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