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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
468
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: mate · jam · content · stand · net · squash · hand · chair

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mate — a friend
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. squash — the sport
  5. content — happy
  6. hand — in cards
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stand — to bear
  15. content — the amount
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. net — after costs
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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