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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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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: lie · kid · shower · squash · sharp · racket · trunk · stand

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. lie — to recline
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. shower — to wash
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. sharp — clever
  10. kid — child
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kid — to tease
  19. squash — to crush
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. shower — rain

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