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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. field — for sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. club — for dancing
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. toast — bread
  15. field — farmland
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. lie — to recline
  18. field — a subject
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for golf

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