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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mate — to breed
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bark — to shout
  11. field — a subject
  12. toast — bread
  13. kid — child
  14. mate — a partner
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bass — low music
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. kid — to tease
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bass — the fish

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