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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. present — a gift
  3. track — to keep track
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. degree — from a university
  6. track — a song
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. present — the time now
  9. track — a path
  10. wake — a trail
  11. march — music
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. march — the month
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. degree — an amount
  18. present — there
  19. degree — temperature
  20. toast — bread
  21. spring — of water
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. march — the month

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