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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · hide · date · squash · field · cold · last · shower

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. shower — rain
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. toast — bread
  6. squash — to crush
  7. last — to go on
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. shower — to wash
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. last — final
  21. date — the fruit
  22. last — finally
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. field — a subject

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