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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. club — for golf
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. stock — goods
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. object — an aim
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. club — for dancing
  15. stock — shares
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wake — a trail
  18. spell — magic
  19. object — to protest
  20. club — a group
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. object — a thing
  23. kick — in football
  24. pit — in a race

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