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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: roll · pop · stem · squash · content · spring · rule · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. content — happy
  6. pop — to visit
  7. content — the amount
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rule — government
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — of a king
  13. rule — a law
  14. court — of law
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pop — soda
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. pop — music
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. roll — a list
  22. spring — the season
  23. stem — to come from
  24. roll — a cake

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