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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: straw · nail · spell · ground · root · bat · squash · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. ground — the earth
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. root — the cause
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ground — a position
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bat — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. spell — letters
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. root — of a word
  24. ground — crushed

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