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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. mate — to breed
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. present — a gift
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. band — a ring
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mine — for digging
  17. present — there
  18. toast — bread
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. band — a music group
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. date — the fruit
  23. mate — a partner
  24. toast — the most admired

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