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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: drill · rule · ground · tube · chair · squash · content · rush

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tube — the underground
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. squash — the sport
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rule — a law
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rush — hurry
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rule — government
  19. ground — the earth
  20. drill — the tool
  21. ground — a position
  22. content — the amount
  23. tube — a container
  24. rush — a thrill

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