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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: spring · kick · saw · cold · roll · root · chair · squash

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. root — of a plant
  3. roll — a list
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. kick — in football
  6. cold — not warm
  7. root — of a word
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spring — of water
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. root — the cause
  14. spring — a coil
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chair — a leader
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. spring — the season
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — the sport

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