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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: hand · lash · chest · trunk · tear · foot · net · present

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. net — in sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. net — for catching
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. tear — to rip
  12. present — there
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. chest — a box
  15. net — after costs
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. present — the time now
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. present — a gift
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lash — an eyelash

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