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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: straw · capital · band · deal · tear · calf

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. 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. tear — from crying
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — to handle
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. capital — money
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. band — a ring
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a music group
  13. capital — a city
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. 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