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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: ground · spring · race · net · firm · mate · squash · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. squash — to crush
  3. net — in sport
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — a company
  6. ground — the earth
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mate — to breed
  9. ground — a position
  10. race — humankind
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spring — the season
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. race — a contest
  16. net — for catching
  17. ground — crushed
  18. chest — a box
  19. firm — decided
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. chest — of your body
  24. net — after costs

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