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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: deal · pound · tear · stand · spring · kid · lean · roll

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. roll — a list
  3. lean — to bend
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. kid — child
  8. lean — thin
  9. deal — to handle
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. stand — to bear
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pound — a weight
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kid — to tease
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. roll — a cake
  23. tear — to rip
  24. stand — for spectators

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