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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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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: trunk · chest · racket · tear · kid · stand

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

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stand — to bear
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. kid — child
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chest — of your body

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