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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 116 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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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: fork · scale · squash · cell · wind · fall · content · ground

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. scale — in music
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. fall — to drop
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. squash — the sport
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. scale — size or range
  19. content — the amount
  20. fall — to drop
  21. content — happy
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. squash — to crush

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