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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 · land · bowl · rash · hand · bore · field · squash

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. land — to come down
  7. rash — hasty
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. field — a subject
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. field — farmland
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rash — a series
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. field — for sport
  20. bore — to tire
  21. hand — in cards
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bore — to drill
  24. squash — the sport

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