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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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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: bat · wind · snap · drill · squash · content · march · object

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. march — the month
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. object — to protest
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. march — the month
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — the amount
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. drill — a practice
  18. object — a thing
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. march — music
  21. drill — army training
  22. wind — moving air
  23. object — an aim
  24. content — happy

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