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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 · stand · kid · pass · bear · wind · bat · temple

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. kid — child
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bat — the animal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pass — a permit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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