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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: bulb · object · hand · squash · spring · net · snap · content

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. object — to protest
  8. content — the amount
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. net — for catching
  12. snap — to click
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — of water
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. object — a thing
  18. bulb — for light
  19. object — an aim
  20. net — in sport
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spring — a coil
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. net — after costs

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