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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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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: bank · chest · land · season · band · pitcher · nail · calf

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. band — a ring
  15. chest — a box
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. season — in sport
  18. land — to come down
  19. season — of the year
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bank — for money
  23. band — a music group
  24. bank — of a river

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