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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: kid · snap · ruler · perch · saw · temple · content · branch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. content — happy
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. branch — a division
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. content — the amount
  15. snap — to click
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. saw — the tool
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. saw — the tool

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