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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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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: pop · wake · squash · branch · wax · bat · mouse · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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 tree
  3. pop — music
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pop — soda
  8. squash — to crush
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. branch — a division
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bat — the animal
  22. perch — the fish
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wake — a trail

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