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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pound — a weight
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — wild animals
  9. toast — bread
  10. field — a subject
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. game — a match
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. spell — letters
  23. pound — for dogs
  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