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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: branch · calf · face · bat · stock · rest · content · roll

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stock — shares
  5. roll — a cake
  6. branch — a division
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. content — happy
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. face — to confront
  17. stock — goods
  18. face — part of the head
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. roll — a list
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. branch — of a tree

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