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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lie · pop · squash · branch · kid · stem · perch · last

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stem — to come from
  3. kid — child
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. kid — to tease
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. lie — to recline
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — the sport
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. branch — a division
  16. pop — music
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pop — to visit
  19. last — to go on
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. last — final

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