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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: stick · cell · kid · season · perch · present · straw · trunk

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. kid — child
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. present — a gift
  4. season — in sport
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. season — of the year
  7. cell — in biology
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. present — there
  10. perch — the fish
  11. present — the time now
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. kid — to tease
  23. trunk — of a car
  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