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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: kid · perch · wind · branch · tube · stem · sharp · degree

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. branch — a division
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. perch — the fish
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — moving air
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kid — to tease
  15. tube — a container
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tube — the underground
  23. degree — from a university
  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