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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: hand · bowl · craft · tear · pitch · calf · band · clip

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pitch — completely
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tear — to rip
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. clip — for paper
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — in cards
  10. band — a ring
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. clip — to cut
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. band — a music group
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. clip — a video
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — help
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a skill

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