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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: bear · land · rule · perch · rest · clip · branch · kid

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. land — a country
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. kid — child
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rule — government
  11. perch — the fish
  12. branch — a division
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. land — ground
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rule — a law
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — to come down
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rest — a break
  24. kid — to tease

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