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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. current — electric
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. ground — a position
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. track — a path
  8. stock — shares
  9. bat — the animal
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. kick — in football
  13. current — happening now
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ground — the earth
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. current — of water
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. ground — crushed
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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