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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: trunk · wind · land · bound · tear · ball · lean · kick

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bound — certain
  7. ball — a great time
  8. land — to come down
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bound — obliged
  11. kick — in football
  12. ball — a dance
  13. bound — tied together
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. land — ground
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lean — thin

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