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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chip · season · kick · cold · straw · bound · net · squash

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. squash — to crush
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. season — of the year
  13. bound — obliged
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. squash — the sport
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. net — after costs
  19. season — in sport
  20. bound — tied together
  21. net — for catching
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. kick — in football
  24. bound — certain

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