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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: date · row · squash · content · roll · rash

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. 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. date — on the calendar
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. rash — hasty
  6. content — happy
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rash — a series
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. date — the fruit
  17. content — the amount
  18. 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