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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 116 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cell — a phone
  5. kick — in football
  6. pound — a weight
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stock — shares
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stock — goods
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. scale — in music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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