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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
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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: march · band · calf · straw · fan · tube · snap · shower

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a music group
  7. march — music
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. march — the month
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. band — a ring
  15. tube — a container
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. march — the month
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. tube — the underground
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. snap — to click

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