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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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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: drill · squash · season · vault · chip · content · cell · bark

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. content — happy
  4. drill — a practice
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. squash — the sport
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bark — to shout
  13. vault — a safe
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. season — in sport
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. season — of the year
  19. chip — for betting
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. drill — the tool
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. drill — army training
  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