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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. dip — to sink
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. field — for sport
  14. march — the month
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. field — a subject
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bore — to drill
  24. field — farmland

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