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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: pitcher · roll · branch · perch · field · clip · deal · squash

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. clip — to cut
  13. branch — a division
  14. perch — the fish
  15. roll — a cake
  16. squash — to crush
  17. clip — for paper
  18. roll — a list
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. clip — a video
  22. squash — the sport
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. field — for sport

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