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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. roll — a list
  3. field — a subject
  4. march — the month
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mark — a grade
  8. key — the most important part
  9. toast — bread
  10. field — farmland
  11. key — in music
  12. march — the month
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. key — for a lock
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. march — music
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mark — a trace
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bark — to shout
  24. field — for sport

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