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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 · calf · band · prune · pitch · file · cell · dip

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. dip — to sink
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a music group
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. file — a document
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pitch — completely
  10. file — a tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. file — a line of people
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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