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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 · toast · prune

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. tear — to rip
  4. band — a ring
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. capital — money
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. prune — to trim
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. tear — from crying
  16. toast — bread
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. band — a music group
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — a city
  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