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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: spring · stand · drill · content · rest · game · cabinet · wound

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. content — happy
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. stand — to bear
  9. drill — the tool
  10. game — wild animals
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. drill — army training
  21. rest — a break
  22. game — a match
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rest — what's left

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