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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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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: trunk · kid · tear · root · hand · deal · kick · snap

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. kick — with a leg
  2. root — of a word
  3. kick — in football
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. deal — to handle
  13. tear — to rip
  14. kid — child
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to click
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. hand — help
  19. root — of a plant
  20. kid — to tease
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. root — the cause
  23. hand — part of the body
  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