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

Word bank: rock · land · clip · cap · perch · mug · firm · branch

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rock — a stone
  3. mug — a face
  4. cap — a lid
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. firm — steady
  12. land — a country
  13. firm — a company
  14. perch — the fish
  15. firm — decided
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cap — of ice
  18. land — to come down
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. branch — a division
  22. rock — music
  23. branch — of a tree
  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