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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 · stand · mate · foot · pound · kid · wind · toast

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. kid — child
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. pound — a weight
  6. foot — a measure
  7. stand — to bear
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. mate — to breed
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. toast — bread

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