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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: saw · chair · straw · squash · kick · root · spring · content

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. spring — of water
  3. squash — to crush
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. content — the amount
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — a coil
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. chair — a leader
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a word
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. spring — the season
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — in football
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. squash — the sport
  23. saw — the tool
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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