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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: fork · calf · pitcher · roll · race · mine · stand · row

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. row — a line
  3. race — humankind
  4. roll — a list
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. race — a contest
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. race — the arms race
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. roll — a cake
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stand — on your feet

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