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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: row · pitcher · band · branch · field · bulb · kid · calf

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. band — a music group
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. kid — to tease
  11. row — to paddle
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. kid — child
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. branch — a division
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. band — a rubber band

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