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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. mine — for digging
  3. toast — bread
  4. drill — army training
  5. field — a subject
  6. drill — a practice
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bear — the animal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — farmland
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. field — for sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. band — a ring

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