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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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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: arm · spell · content · squash · tear · rock · bore · chip

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chip — to eat
  5. rock — music
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. content — the amount
  8. spell — a short time
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. tear — to rip
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. chip — for betting
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — a stone
  24. tear — from crying

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