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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: pitcher · hide · band · calf · content · nail · race · hand

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. content — happy
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. hand — help
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — a contest
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. band — a ring
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. content — the amount

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