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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 · board · toast · row · kick · rush · chest · date

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. row — a line
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. date — the fruit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — farmland
  8. board — to get on
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. field — a subject
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. field — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. row — to paddle
  16. kick — in football
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rush — hurry
  23. toast — bread
  24. board — a committee

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