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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: content · snap · branch · clip · perch · lean · racket · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. branch — a division
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. content — happy
  13. degree — an amount
  14. content — the amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. snap — to click
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. lean — to bend
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. clip — for paper
  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