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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. net — after costs
  6. tear — from crying
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mug — a face
  9. field — for sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. field — farmland
  13. mug — to rob
  14. board — a committee
  15. lean — thin
  16. net — for catching
  17. board — to get on
  18. field — a subject
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. mug — a cup
  24. lean — to bend

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