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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: trunk · patient · net · pitcher · race · spell · row · calf

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spell — letters
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. spell — a short time
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. race — a contest
  16. row — a line
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. net — after costs
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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