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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: chest · patient · squash · spell · bound · root · saw · tear

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bound — tied together
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. squash — to crush
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chest — a box
  11. bound — obliged
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. root — of a plant
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. root — the cause
  18. squash — the sport
  19. root — of a word
  20. bound — certain
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spell — letters

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