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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: mate · calf · rest · branch · kid · content · stock · bowl

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. content — happy
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. rest — a break
  7. branch — a division
  8. stock — shares
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. kid — to tease
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. content — the amount
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. kid — child
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. rest — what's left
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stock — goods
  22. mate — to breed
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mate — a partner

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