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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. game — wild animals
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stock — shares
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. game — a match
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kick — in football
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bat — in an idiom

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