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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spring — the season
  3. can — a tin
  4. kid — to tease
  5. squash — to crush
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. kid — child
  10. can — to be able to
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. can — a tin
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cap — a lid
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cap — of ice
  17. board — a committee
  18. cap — a hat
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. squash — the sport
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rash — a series
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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