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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: racket · bank · row · branch · perch · cold · ground · band

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bank — of a river
  4. branch — a division
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bank — for money
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ground — the earth
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. band — a ring
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. ground — a position
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. row — a line
  21. bank — for money
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. ground — crushed
  24. band — a music group

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