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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: trunk · kick · court · stand · content · tear · kid · lean

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tear — to rip
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. court — of a king
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. court — for sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stand — to bear
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. court — of law
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. content — the amount
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. lean — thin
  23. content — happy
  24. kid — to tease

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