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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 · rash · key

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

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. kid — child
  3. rash — a series
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. key — for a lock
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. perch — the fish
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — army training
  12. kid — to tease
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. key — the most important part
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rash — hasty
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. key — in music
  20. chair — a leader
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. perch — for a bird

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