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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: chair · perch · kid · drill · lash · trunk

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kid — to tease
  11. drill — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. drill — a practice
  18. perch — the fish

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