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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: field · kid · mouse · pitcher · trunk · toast · foot · bowl

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. field — a subject
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — farmland
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. kid — to tease
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. kid — child
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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