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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.

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: cold · object · content · rash · squash · temple · staff · row

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. content — happy
  4. row — to paddle
  5. content — the amount
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — to protest
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. staff — employees
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. staff — employees
  16. object — a thing
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rash — a series
  21. staff — a stick
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. squash — the sport

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