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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: clip · lie · lash · degree · bat · branch · tube · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. perch — the fish
  4. tube — a container
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. clip — to cut
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. clip — for paper
  16. degree — temperature
  17. clip — a video
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bat — the animal
  20. branch — a division
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. branch — of a tree

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