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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: last · tear · toast · calf · land · bowl · wind · racket

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. tear — to rip
  3. toast — bread
  4. tear — from crying
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. land — to come down
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. land — ground
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — from crying
  13. last — to go on
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — final
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. land — a country
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. racket — a loud noise

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