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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · race · mate · court · wake · squash · fan · saw

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. content — the amount
  3. mate — to breed
  4. saw — the tool
  5. content — happy
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. race — a contest
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mate — a friend
  10. court — of law
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wake — a trail
  13. race — the arms race
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. race — humankind
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. squash — to crush
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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