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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. object — to protest
  5. kick — in football
  6. kid — to tease
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. charge — in control
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stock — shares
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. capital — a city
  18. object — a thing
  19. charge — electricity
  20. object — an aim
  21. capital — money
  22. stock — goods
  23. swing — music
  24. charge — a price

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