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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 · racket · bat · ground · rest · squash · shower · stand

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. rest — a break
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. shower — to wash
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stand — to bear
  9. squash — the sport
  10. shower — rain
  11. content — happy
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ground — a position
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rest — what's left
  22. content — the amount
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. racket — a loud noise

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