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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: band · root · wave · squash · chair · bat · game · kick

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I'd like to play a game 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. game — wild animals
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. root — of a word
  6. game — a match
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. band — a ring
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. squash — to crush
  14. root — the cause
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. kick — in football
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. squash — the sport
  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