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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: pit · pound · lean · degree · trunk · tear · kid · stick

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kid — child
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. tear — to rip
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. kid — to tease
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pit — a hole
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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