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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 116 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: squash · race · face · straw · bay · root · bat · rush

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. face — to point toward
  4. race — a contest
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. root — of a word
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. race — humankind
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. face — to confront
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. root — the cause
  17. rush — hurry
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. face — part of the head
  23. root — of a plant
  24. squash — to crush

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