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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. club — for dancing
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — farmland
  7. ground — the earth
  8. stock — goods
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. club — for golf
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. club — a group
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stock — shares
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — child
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. ground — a position
  24. toast — bread

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