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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: season · hand · squash · chip · net · mate · ground · rest

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. season — in sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. ground — a position
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. net — in sport
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. squash — the sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. hand — help
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ground — the earth
  20. squash — to crush
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. net — after costs
  24. rest — what's left

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