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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 120 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: plane · bark · rest · leaves · tear · kick · squash · chest

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kick — in football
  4. chest — of your body
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. chest — a box
  10. rest — a break
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tear — to rip
  17. plane — a tool
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bark — to shout
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — of a tree

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