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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: perch · hand · fine · bark · net · band · hide · branch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. net — for catching
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. net — in sport
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — help
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bark — to shout
  10. fine — all right
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. branch — a division
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. band — a music group
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. net — after costs
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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