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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: kid · dip · squash · trunk · racket · chair · stand · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stand — to bear
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. squash — to crush
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. dip — to sink
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. kid — child
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. squash — the sport
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. tear — from crying

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