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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 · bear · mate · snap · net · charge · ground · sharp

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. charge — a price
  3. squash — the sport
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. net — after costs
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bear — the animal
  12. squash — to crush
  13. net — in sport
  14. snap — to click
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. net — for catching
  17. charge — electricity
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. charge — in control
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bear — the animal
  23. mate — to breed
  24. ground — the earth

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