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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: squash · spring · staff · rule · vault · ground · cold · content

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. content — the amount
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — an illness
  7. vault — a safe
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rule — government
  10. spring — the season
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. content — happy
  13. ground — the earth
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. staff — employees
  16. ground — a position
  17. squash — the sport
  18. ground — crushed
  19. staff — a stick
  20. spring — of water
  21. rule — a law
  22. staff — employees
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cold — not warm

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