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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. field — for sport
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — a trail
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. fall — to drop
  7. field — farmland
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. bound — obliged
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. fall — the season
  15. march — music
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. bound — certain
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. field — a subject
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. fall — to drop
  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