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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 116 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: rash · drill · kid · squash · cold · content · season · craft

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rash — a series
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cold — an illness
  8. drill — the tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. season — of the year
  11. craft — boats
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. squash — the sport
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kid — child
  17. craft — a skill
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. content — happy
  22. rash — hasty
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — a practice

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