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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: saw · rule · spell · clip · cold · content · rock · squash

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. content — happy
  3. rock — a stone
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. clip — to cut
  8. spell — letters
  9. rule — a law
  10. cold — an illness
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rock — music
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. content — the amount
  15. spell — magic
  16. squash — the sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cold — not warm
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rock — to move gently

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