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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: march · rest · straw · rush · swing · land · squash · root

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. march — music
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. rest — a break
  8. root — the cause
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rest — what's left
  18. squash — to crush
  19. march — the month
  20. land — a country
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rest — what's left
  24. march — the month

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