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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: net · squash · saw · clip · bat · wound · mug · board

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. saw — the tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wound — an injury
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. clip — a video
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. board — a committee
  15. clip — for paper
  16. net — in sport
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bat — the animal
  19. net — for catching
  20. clip — to cut
  21. net — after costs
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. board — to get on
  24. mug — a face

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