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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: cold · craft · fan · stem · land · pitcher · calf · squash

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. squash — to crush
  22. land — ground
  23. stem — to come from
  24. fan — to cool the air

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