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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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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: chest · wind · bowl · stick · content · stock · drill · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. stock — shares
  4. chest — a box
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — a practice
  8. content — the amount
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stock — goods
  14. drill — the tool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chest — of your body
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. drill — army training

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