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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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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: club · race · rule · hand · bass · wind · bank · calf

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. club — for golf
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — a contest
  7. rule — government
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bass — the fish
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rule — a law
  23. bank — of a river
  24. wind — moving air

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