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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. last — to go on
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. tube — a container
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. last — final
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. court — of a king
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. field — for sport
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. tube — the underground
  19. field — a subject
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — finally
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. straw — a straw man

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