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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: land · nail · stick · spell · patient · content · pit · calf

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pit — in a race
  7. land — a country
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spell — letters
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pit — a hole
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. content — happy
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. content — the amount
  18. spell — a short time
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. land — to come down
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. spell — magic

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