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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · bat · kick · stock · chest · charge · sharp · capital

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. sharp — clever
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. charge — in control
  6. stock — goods
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lean — to bend
  15. capital — money
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. charge — a price
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chest — of your body
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. lean — thin
  22. capital — a city
  23. chest — a box
  24. charge — electricity

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