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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 116 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: pound · hand · branch · last · band · tube · cell · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. tube — a container
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pound — a weight
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. cell — a phone
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. branch — a division
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. tube — the underground
  14. last — finally
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. band — a music group
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. band — a ring
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. hand — help

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