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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 116 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: chair · saw · wound · net · squash · present · straw · stand

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. net — after costs
  3. present — there
  4. net — in sport
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. net — for catching
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. present — the time now
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stand — to bear
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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