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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. craft — a skill
  4. perch — the fish
  5. content — happy
  6. snap — to click
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. craft — boats
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bat — the animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. branch — a division
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. band — a ring
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. content — the amount
  24. band — a music group

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