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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. toast — bread
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mug — a face
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. bound — certain
  8. plane — a tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. field — for sport
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. march — music
  14. band — a ring
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bound — obliged
  18. field — farmland
  19. mug — a cup
  20. hand — in cards
  21. march — the month
  22. hand — help
  23. field — a subject
  24. march — the month

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