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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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Word bank
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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: pitch · chair · perch · bore · kid · spell · trunk · spring

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. kid — child
  4. pitch — completely
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bore — to tire
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bore — to drill
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spell — magic
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. spring — a coil
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. spell — letters

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