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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 116 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: lean · board · branch · mine · perch · mouse · race · degree

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mine — for digging
  7. board — to get on
  8. perch — the fish
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. race — humankind
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. race — a contest
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — thin
  21. board — a committee
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. branch — a division
  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