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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: squash · patient · land · calf · bound · craft · field · pitch

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. land — a country
  7. pitch — completely
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. land — ground
  10. field — for sport
  11. bound — certain
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — obliged
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. squash — the sport
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bound — tied together
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — to come down
  22. field — a subject
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — a handicraft

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