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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: dip · stem · rash · firm · squash · cell · spring · content

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. content — happy
  5. spring — of water
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cell — a phone
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. firm — a company
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. squash — to crush
  20. content — the amount
  21. dip — to sink
  22. firm — decided
  23. rash — a series
  24. dip — to dunk

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