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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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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: stock · swing · kick · snap · mark · squash · bat · bore

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. swing — in golf
  3. stock — goods
  4. mark — a grade
  5. kick — in football
  6. bore — to tire
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. mark — a trace
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. squash — the sport
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. snap — to click
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. squash — to crush

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