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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: wind · fall · straw · season · lie · calf · coach · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fall — the season
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. lie — to recline
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. season — of the year
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wind — moving air
  24. calf — a young animal

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