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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: present · drill · stick · squash · sharp · bat · spring · content

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. present — the time now
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. squash — to crush
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. drill — army training
  12. spring — the season
  13. drill — the tool
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. drill — a practice
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. content — happy
  19. bat — the animal
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. spring — of water
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. content — the amount

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