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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: bound · prune · suit · fan · perch · ground · branch · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. suit — in cards
  5. clip — a video
  6. ground — crushed
  7. suit — clothes
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bound — certain
  15. suit — to fit
  16. perch — the fish
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — a position
  23. branch — a division
  24. ground — the earth

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