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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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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 · shower · straw · perch · face · deal · clip

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. face — to confront
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. band — a ring
  8. deal — to handle
  9. shower — rain
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. shower — to wash
  12. face — to point toward
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. clip — to cut
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. face — part of the head
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. band — a music group

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