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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: tear · straw · lean · calf · season · hand

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. lean — to bend
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lean — thin
  13. season — of the year
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. hand — help
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. hand — in cards

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