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

Word bank: court · straw · file · toast · tear · object

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. object — a thing
  3. file — a tool
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. tear — from crying
  7. object — an aim
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. object — to protest
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. file — a document
  12. tear — to rip
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. court — for sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. toast — bread
  18. file — a line of people

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