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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: calf · club · hand · band · pound · wake · court · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. club — for dancing
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. court — of law
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. hand — in cards
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. court — of a king
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. band — a music group
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. hand — help

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