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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 116 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: season · kid · race · trunk · content · tear · lean · firm

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. season — of the year
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — child
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. content — happy
  7. firm — steady
  8. lean — to bend
  9. race — a contest
  10. content — the amount
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — humankind
  13. firm — decided
  14. tear — to rip
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. lean — thin
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. race — the arms race
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. kid — to tease
  24. season — in sport

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