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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: court · swing · lash · straw · lie · file · field · arm

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. field — farmland
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. court — for sport
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. file — a document
  10. field — for sport
  11. lie — to recline
  12. court — of law
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. file — a tool
  16. swing — to play on
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. court — of a king
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. field — a subject
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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