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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: stock · kid · branch · lean · wake · dip · content · can

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. content — happy
  3. can — a tin
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stock — goods
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. kid — to tease
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kid — child
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. branch — a division
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. content — the amount
  19. stock — shares
  20. wake — a trail
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. can — a tin
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. branch — of a bank

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