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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: wake · bowl · net · pop · nail · chip · mate · wound

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. net — after costs
  13. pop — music
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mate — to breed
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. pop — soda
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — to eat
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. net — in sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. net — for catching

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