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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cold — an illness
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. craft — a skill
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. scale — size or range
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. scale — in music
  24. nail — for a hammer

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