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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. shower — to wash
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. shower — rain
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. field — a subject
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bear — the animal
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. field — farmland
  19. object — to protest
  20. wind — moving air
  21. object — a thing
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bear — the animal
  24. object — an aim

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