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

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. branch — of a tree
  2. degree — from a university
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. track — a song
  9. branch — a division
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. file — a document
  16. track — a path
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. track — to keep track
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. perch — the fish
  23. prune — to trim
  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