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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: squash · pop · row · root · kid · straw · bear · season

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bear — the animal
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. root — of a word
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. row — to paddle
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pop — music
  10. season — in sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. row — a line
  13. season — of the year
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. squash — to crush
  18. kid — child
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. pop — soda
  24. squash — the vegetable

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