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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: game · row · wax · squash · wake · pitcher · root · fan

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. game — wild animals
  7. row — to paddle
  8. game — a match
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. squash — to crush
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. root — the cause
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — to grow
  19. row — a line
  20. root — of a plant
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. root — of a word
  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