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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · trunk · present · race · file · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. race — the arms race
  3. toast — bread
  4. race — a contest
  5. present — there
  6. field — farmland
  7. file — a tool
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. present — the time now
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — for sport
  12. race — humankind
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. file — a document
  15. present — a gift
  16. field — a subject
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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