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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 120 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: firm · squash · cell · saw · content · wave · hide · drill

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. drill — a practice
  5. squash — to crush
  6. content — happy
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. firm — steady
  13. squash — the sport
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. saw — the tool
  17. firm — a company
  18. cell — in biology
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. drill — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. drill — army training
  23. saw — the tool
  24. content — the amount

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