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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 120 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: deal · cap · calf · clip · game · bound · pit · straw

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bound — tied together
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cap — a lid
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — in a race
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bound — certain
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. game — wild animals
  21. clip — to cut
  22. game — a match
  23. bound — obliged
  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