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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: content · drill · rash · spring · mouse · ruler · hide · row

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. content — happy
  3. drill — army training
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. spring — the season
  7. rash — a series
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. content — the amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spring — of water
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. drill — the tool
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. row — a line
  24. ruler — for measuring

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