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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. fall — the season
  5. court — for sport
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. field — farmland
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. court — of a king
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. court — of law
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cue — for pool
  17. race — a contest
  18. pound — a weight
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. fall — to drop

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