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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: arm · court · toast · racket · row · tear · straw · fall

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fall — to drop
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tear — to rip
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. court — of law
  12. toast — bread
  13. court — for sport
  14. row — a line
  15. fall — the season
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. tear — from crying
  18. row — to paddle
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. court — of a king
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. tear — from crying

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