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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: calf · mark · content · branch · court · patient

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. content — happy
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mark — a trace
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. branch — a division
  15. content — the amount
  16. mark — a grade
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. patient — a sick person

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