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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: rest · spring · root · straw · tear · squash · board · content

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. spring — the season
  3. root — of a plant
  4. board — a committee
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. squash — to crush
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spring — a coil
  9. squash — the sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — the amount
  12. root — of a word
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spring — of water
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — happy
  20. rest — a break
  21. board — to get on
  22. rest — what's left
  23. root — the cause
  24. squash — the vegetable

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