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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: fall · calf · band · hand · clip · branch · net · wind

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hand — help
  6. branch — a division
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — after costs
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fall — to drop
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. net — for catching
  13. hand — in cards
  14. clip — a video
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fall — to drop
  20. band — a ring
  21. fall — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. band — a music group
  24. calf — a young animal

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