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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. toast — bread
  3. present — a gift
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. rock — music
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. present — there
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. rock — a stone
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. present — the time now

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