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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · spring · fan · ground · object · lean · squash · drill

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spring — a coil
  3. drill — army training
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. drill — a practice
  6. ground — the earth
  7. content — the amount
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. spring — of water
  10. object — a thing
  11. squash — to crush
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. object — an aim
  14. spring — the season
  15. ground — a position
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. lean — thin
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. content — happy
  20. squash — the sport
  21. object — to protest
  22. lean — to bend
  23. drill — the tool
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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