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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. rush — hurry
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. squash — to crush
  9. charge — in control
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. charge — electricity
  12. net — after costs
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. charge — a price
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. squash — the sport
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rush — to hurry

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