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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: perch · firm · lean · field · date · clip · branch · cabinet

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. firm — steady
  5. lean — to bend
  6. firm — a company
  7. lean — thin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. branch — a division
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. perch — the fish
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. clip — for paper
  18. field — farmland
  19. date — the fruit
  20. firm — decided
  21. field — for sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. field — a subject
  24. branch — of a bank

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