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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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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: bank · pitcher · pound · kid · spell · staff · stem · hand

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. kid — to tease
  12. staff — a stick
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. kid — child
  15. staff — employees
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hand — help
  18. bank — of a river
  19. stem — to come from
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spell — letters

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