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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: tear · field · pound · straw · court · lash · perch · fall

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. field — a subject
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. field — for sport
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. field — farmland
  11. court — for sport
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — of a king
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. court — of law
  16. pound — a weight
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tear — to rip

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