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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · cold · racket · pound · squash · net · present · mine

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pound — a weight
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. net — after costs
  8. mine — for digging
  9. net — for catching
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. present — the time now
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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