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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. mug — to rob
  3. field — for sport
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. toast — bread
  7. mug — a face
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. chip — to eat
  10. march — music
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. chip — for betting
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. bass — the fish
  15. field — a subject
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. field — farmland
  20. bass — low music
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. march — the month
  24. dip — to sink

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