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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 116 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 · bank · cap · pound · capital · tear · drill

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cap — a hat
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pound — a weight
  11. capital — a city
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bank — of a river
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bank — for money
  16. cap — of ice
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bank — for money
  19. tear — to rip
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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