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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: calf · ground · charge · prune · squash · spring · band · content

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — in control
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ground — a position
  5. content — happy
  6. ground — crushed
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spring — a coil
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. prune — to trim
  12. squash — to crush
  13. content — the amount
  14. spring — of water
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spring — the season
  17. charge — electricity
  18. band — a ring
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. band — a music group
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. squash — the sport
  24. ground — the earth

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