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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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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: root · chair · pit · racket · wave · straw · squash · lean

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lean — to bend
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. root — of a word
  8. chair — a leader
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. squash — to crush
  11. root — of a plant
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pit — a hole
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. lean — thin
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. root — the cause

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