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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: content · row · nail · cold · cabinet · squash · drill · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cold — not warm
  7. content — the amount
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. content — happy
  11. cold — an illness
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. drill — army training
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. drill — a practice
  18. squash — to crush
  19. lean — thin
  20. squash — the sport
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. drill — the tool
  24. row — a line

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