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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: mine · bark · cue · toast · kid · field · wake · pit

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. field — farmland
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. mine — for digging
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. kid — child
  8. wake — a trail
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. toast — bread
  11. pit — in a race
  12. kid — to tease
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. bark — to shout
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pit — a hole

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