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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: calf · press · capital · trunk · fall · straw · prune · pitcher

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — money
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fall — the season
  6. press — a publisher
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. press — newspapers
  14. capital — a city
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. prune — to trim
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. press — to push
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fall — to drop
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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