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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: bark · squash · kid · toast · present · tube · dip · plane

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — there
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kid — child
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bark — to shout
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — bread
  11. present — a gift
  12. plane — a tool
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. squash — the sport
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. dip — to dunk

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