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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: mark · lash · cue · bat · kick · stock · court · straw

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cue — a hint
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. stock — goods
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — of law
  7. kick — in football
  8. cue — for pool
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cue — a signal
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. court — for sport
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stock — shares
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. court — of a king
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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