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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: ground · band · bat · cabinet · straw · calf · deal · content

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. content — the amount
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ground — the earth
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. ground — crushed
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ground — a position
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bat — the animal
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. content — happy
  23. band — a music group
  24. deal — to handle

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