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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: squash · mine · mate · nail · chip · spring · net · bat

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. mate — a friend
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mate — a partner
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. net — after costs
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spring — the season
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. squash — to crush
  20. net — for catching
  21. spring — of water
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mate — to breed

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