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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: rash · scale · squash · cell · fine · present · content · fall

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. present — the time now
  3. fall — to drop
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cell — in biology
  6. fine — high quality
  7. present — a gift
  8. content — happy
  9. fall — to drop
  10. present — there
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. content — the amount
  15. scale — size or range
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fall — the season
  18. fine — all right
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cell — a phone
  21. squash — to crush
  22. rash — a series
  23. scale — in music
  24. rash — on the skin

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