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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: root · shower · straw · last · spell · date · saw · court

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spell — magic
  4. court — for sport
  5. spell — letters
  6. root — of a plant
  7. spell — a short time
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. root — the cause
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. saw — the tool
  14. court — of law
  15. saw — the tool
  16. date — the fruit
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. court — of a king
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. root — of a word
  24. last — final

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