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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: pound · mug · calf · hand · nail · kid · clip · drill

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pound — a weight
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. kid — to tease
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. mug — to rob
  18. clip — to cut
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mug — a face
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. kid — child
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mug — a cup

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