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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. stem — to come from
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. rock — a stone
  9. staff — a stick
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. staff — employees
  12. stand — to bear
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. clip — to cut
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. branch — a division
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. staff — employees
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. perch — the fish

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