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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 120 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: cell · shower · band · squash · content · lie · leaves · mate

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. shower — to wash
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. content — happy
  7. shower — rain
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lie — to recline
  10. band — a ring
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. mate — to breed
  14. squash — to crush
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mate — a friend
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mate — a partner
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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