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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · hand · clip · pitcher · bank · club · kid · calf

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bank — for money
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — to come down
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hand — help
  24. club — for dancing

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