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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: chair · date · toast · roll · squash · bulb · cold · content

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. roll — a cake
  3. squash — to crush
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bulb — for light
  8. date — the fruit
  9. squash — the sport
  10. roll — a list
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. content — the amount
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. chair — a leader
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. content — happy
  24. chair — a professorship

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