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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to click
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kid — child
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stand — to bear
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tear — to rip
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kid — to tease
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chest — a box
  23. tear — from crying
  24. racket — for tennis

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