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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: clip · squash · rock · wax · prune · straw · root · racket

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. squash — to crush
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wax — to grow
  8. clip — for paper
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rock — music
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. root — of a word
  13. rock — a stone
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. clip — a video
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. root — the cause
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. prune — to trim

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