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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. charge — electricity
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. last — final
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. last — finally
  12. stock — shares
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. prune — to trim
  17. charge — in control
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — to go on
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. charge — a price
  24. bat — the animal

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