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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · clip · calf · bat · drill · leaves · wake · band

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. clip — for paper
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — army training
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. band — a music group
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. drill — the tool
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. wake — a trail
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. clip — a video
  24. leaves — of a tree

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