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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 120 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: wound · net · pitcher · season · clip · staff · squash · mate

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. staff — employees
  4. net — for catching
  5. season — in sport
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. net — after costs
  8. season — of the year
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — in sport
  18. staff — a stick
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mate — to breed
  21. staff — employees
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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