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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: date · root · wake · hand · bat · drill · season · squash

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. drill — a practice
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. drill — the tool
  4. root — of a word
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. squash — to crush
  8. drill — army training
  9. root — of a plant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. root — the cause
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hand — help
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. season — of the year
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. season — in sport
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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