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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: kick · chair · straw · perch · kid · wake · bore · root

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a plant
  5. bore — to tire
  6. perch — the fish
  7. root — of a word
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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