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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: saw · bear · squash · root · staff · capital · wave · cold

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. saw — the tool
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. bear — the animal
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. squash — to crush
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. squash — the sport
  14. root — of a word
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. cold — not warm
  21. root — the cause
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. root — of a plant
  24. saw — the tool

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