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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 · chair · bore · cell · kick · club · perch · bass

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bass — low music
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. perch — the fish
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. club — for golf
  10. bore — to tire
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. kick — in football
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. club — a group
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bore — to drill
  19. club — for dancing
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. cell — in biology

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