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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
468
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 · spell · spring · charge · cold · pitcher · squash · stock

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stock — shares
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stock — goods
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. charge — electricity
  12. squash — to crush
  13. content — the amount
  14. spring — the season
  15. cold — not warm
  16. spell — magic
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. squash — the sport
  19. charge — in control
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spell — letters
  23. charge — a price
  24. pitcher — a jug

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