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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: wound · nail · foot · mine · deal · net · squash · chair

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wound — an injury
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. deal — to handle
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — in sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. net — for catching
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — after costs
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. squash — to crush
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. foot — a measure
  24. nail — on a finger

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