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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: squash · pound · tear · foot · trunk · lie · cold · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cold — not warm
  9. foot — a measure
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. squash — to crush
  22. lie — to recline
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. kick — in football

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