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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: kid · hand · mouse · trunk · club · perch · lie · race

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — help
  9. race — the arms race
  10. club — for golf
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. race — humankind
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. club — a group
  16. race — a contest
  17. perch — the fish
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. lie — to recline
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kid — child
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. hand — in cards

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