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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: nail · scale · club · bank · prune · calf · field · cell

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. scale — size or range
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. club — for golf
  6. field — a subject
  7. bank — for money
  8. club — a group
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bank — of a river
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. scale — in music
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bank — for money

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