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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 120 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: calf · band · track · lean · cold · shower · scale · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. track — to keep track
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. shower — to wash
  6. track — a song
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. track — a path
  9. cold — an illness
  10. band — a ring
  11. lean — thin
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cold — not warm
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. shower — rain
  17. scale — in music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. scale — size or range
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lean — to bend

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