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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · spell · pit · saw · game · wax · squash · root

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. pit — a hole
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. squash — to crush
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. squash — the sport
  12. root — of a word
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spell — letters
  15. root — of a plant
  16. spell — magic
  17. wax — to grow
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. root — the cause
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. saw — the tool
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pit — in a race

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