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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: present · swing · stock · court · kick · bat · foot · date

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. present — a gift
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. court — for sport
  9. swing — music
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. court — of law
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. present — the time now
  17. bat — the animal
  18. swing — to play on
  19. present — there
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. court — of a king

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