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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: content · rest · toast · court · stock · tear · shower · calf

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. tear — from crying
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. tear — to rip
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. stock — shares
  11. court — for sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — of law
  14. content — happy
  15. toast — bread
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. court — of a king
  24. rest — what's left

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