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

Word bank: rash · pitch · present · cell · cold · toast · calf · craft

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. rash — hasty
  3. present — a gift
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. rash — a series
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cell — in biology
  14. craft — boats
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pitch — completely
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. toast — bread
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. calf — a young animal

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