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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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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 · squash · hide · rule · bulb · row · hand · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. content — the amount
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. row — a line
  7. content — happy
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rule — government
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. can — a tin
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. hand — in cards
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hand — help
  21. can — a tin
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. squash — to crush

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