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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. land — a country
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. craft — a skill
  5. squash — to crush
  6. toast — bread
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. craft — boats
  14. land — to come down
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bound — certain
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bound — obliged
  19. game — a match
  20. squash — the sport
  21. land — ground
  22. bound — tied together
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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