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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: squash · rock · content · race · bass · rush · fan · last

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. race — a contest
  5. rush — hurry
  6. race — humankind
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. last — finally
  9. bass — low music
  10. last — to go on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. race — the arms race
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bass — the fish
  20. content — happy
  21. last — final
  22. squash — to crush
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bass — the instrument

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