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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fall — to drop
  3. field — farmland
  4. stock — goods
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. fall — to drop
  8. field — for sport
  9. press — to push
  10. field — a subject
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. kid — child
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fall — the season
  18. rest — a break
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. press — a publisher
  22. rest — what's left
  23. toast — bread
  24. fork — in a road

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