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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · can · court · tear · perch · rash · arm · spell

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. court — for sport
  8. spell — a short time
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spell — letters
  11. can — a tin
  12. court — of law
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. can — to be able to
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rash — a series
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. court — of a king
  20. perch — the fish
  21. can — a tin
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. spell — magic
  24. rash — hasty

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