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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: content · squash · object · cold · sharp · racket · rule · prune

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. squash — to crush
  3. object — an aim
  4. rule — government
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — not warm
  8. content — happy
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. object — a thing
  15. squash — the sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. prune — to trim
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rule — a law
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. object — to protest
  22. cold — an illness
  23. prune — to trim
  24. content — the amount

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