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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: chip · court · bore · degree · perch · mouse · branch · bat

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — a division
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chip — for betting
  5. court — of law
  6. bore — to tire
  7. court — of a king
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. perch — for a bird

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