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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 120 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: craft · squash · calf · rule · cold · patient · stock · row

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. row — to paddle
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. squash — the sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. row — a line
  24. cold — an illness

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