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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: hide · drill · ball · degree · lean · net · branch · perch

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. drill — a practice
  2. perch — the fish
  3. net — in sport
  4. ball — a great time
  5. branch — a division
  6. lean — to bend
  7. net — for catching
  8. lean — thin
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ball — a dance
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. degree — temperature
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — after costs
  23. degree — from a university
  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