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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — final
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. last — finally
  6. hand — help
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. field — for sport
  9. fine — high quality
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. hand — in cards
  13. last — to go on
  14. field — a subject
  15. pit — a hole
  16. toast — bread
  17. pit — in a race
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. field — farmland
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. fine — all right

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