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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: mug · ground · swing · tear · fall · court · lash · field

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. lash — an eyelash
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — for sport
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mug — a face
  8. fall — to drop
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — to rob
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — to play on
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — for sport
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fall — the season
  21. court — of law
  22. swing — in golf
  23. court — of a king
  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