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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 · kid · scale · bark · mine · date · foot · deal

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. deal — to handle
  8. foot — a measure
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. date — the fruit
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — in music
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. kid — child
  22. scale — size or range
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. scale — for weighing

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