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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 · straw · fan · perch · present · field · foot · date

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. perch — the fish
  4. field — for sport
  5. present — a gift
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. toast — bread
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. present — there
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. present — the time now
  19. date — the fruit
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. foot — a measure
  24. toast — the most admired

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