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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 · pound · bark · wind · capital · calf

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. capital — money
  13. pound — a weight
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bark — to shout
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. calf — a young animal

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