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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: fall · squash · root · saw · rule · last · face · spell

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spell — magic
  5. last — final
  6. face — to point toward
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. rule — a law
  10. fall — the season
  11. spell — a short time
  12. root — of a word
  13. rule — government
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — finally
  17. spell — letters
  18. last — to go on
  19. saw — the tool
  20. face — to confront
  21. fall — to drop
  22. saw — the tool
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rule — to rule out

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