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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 · dip · net · mate · chair · tube · sharp · row

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. squash — the sport
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. squash — to crush
  9. dip — to sink
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. row — a line
  19. chair — a leader
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. net — after costs
  22. mate — a friend
  23. tube — a container
  24. row — to paddle

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