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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: lash · toast · tear · pitcher · field · straw · tube · last

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. last — finally
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. field — for sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. field — farmland
  10. tube — the underground
  11. last — to go on
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. field — a subject
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. last — final
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. tube — a container
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. pitcher — a jug

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