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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 · clip · ball · rest · bound · date · content · stock

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. content — the amount
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. clip — to cut
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stock — shares
  10. bound — obliged
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bound — tied together
  13. content — happy
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rest — what's left
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rest — a break
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. rest — what's left
  22. date — the fruit
  23. clip — a video
  24. ball — a dance

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