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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: mine · chair · cold · foot · net · deal · fine · mate

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mate — to breed
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. net — for catching
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. mate — a friend
  21. fine — all right
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chair — a professorship

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