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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: net · content · spell · fall · staff · mine · ground · squash

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fall — to drop
  3. net — after costs
  4. spell — letters
  5. ground — crushed
  6. staff — employees
  7. ground — a position
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spell — a short time
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ground — the earth
  13. net — in sport
  14. content — happy
  15. staff — a stick
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. squash — the sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. net — for catching
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. staff — employees

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