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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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Word bank
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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: toast · band · craft · bore · last · ball · squash · file

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. band — a music group
  3. last — finally
  4. bore — to tire
  5. craft — a skill
  6. squash — to crush
  7. last — final
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. toast — bread
  12. craft — boats
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bore — to drill
  15. file — a tool
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. squash — the sport
  19. last — to go on
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. file — a document
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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