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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. field — a subject
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. prune — to trim
  6. field — for sport
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. field — farmland
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rest — what's left
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rest — a break
  16. chest — of your body
  17. deal — to handle
  18. kick — in football
  19. dip — to sink
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chest — of your body
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chest — a box

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