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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: suit · season · shower · tear · straw · kick · calf · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. tear — from crying
  4. suit — clothes
  5. shower — rain
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tear — from crying
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. suit — in cards
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. season — of the year
  17. suit — to fit
  18. tear — to rip
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — in football
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. 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