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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 · pit · face · band · field · cue · mine · lash

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pit — in a race
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. face — to point toward
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. cue — for pool
  11. face — part of the head
  12. band — a ring
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cue — a signal
  18. face — to confront
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. cue — a hint
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. band — a music group

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