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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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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: wake · firm · clip · branch · prune · perch · club · rash

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. firm — decided
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rash — a series
  7. branch — a division
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. club — for golf
  11. perch — the fish
  12. club — a group
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. firm — steady
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. clip — a video
  21. rash — hasty
  22. clip — for paper
  23. club — for dancing
  24. firm — a company

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