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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: wound · band · pitcher · fork · safe · calf · clip · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — to go on
  5. band — a ring
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. fork — in a road
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — final
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. band — a music group
  17. wound — an injury
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. clip — to cut
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wound — an injury
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. clip — for paper

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