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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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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: plane · bound · lash · shower · band · perch · branch · field

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. field — for sport
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bound — tied together
  10. field — farmland
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. shower — rain
  14. field — a subject
  15. perch — the fish
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. band — a ring
  18. plane — a tool
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. shower — to wash
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. branch — of a bank
  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