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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: net · spring · branch · content · patient · ball · kid · stock

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. content — the amount
  3. net — in sport
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. kid — child
  6. spring — of water
  7. stock — shares
  8. ball — a great time
  9. branch — a division
  10. ball — a dance
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spring — a coil
  15. content — happy
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. kid — to tease
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. spring — the season
  24. stock — goods

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