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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. hand — in cards
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. field — farmland
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — what's left
  10. charge — electricity
  11. rest — what's left
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. field — a subject
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hand — help
  16. branch — a division
  17. rest — a break
  18. toast — bread
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. field — for sport
  23. charge — a price
  24. charge — in control

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