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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: chest · rest · perch · tube · stem · last · branch · mate

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mate — a friend
  6. last — final
  7. mate — to breed
  8. rest — a break
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stem — to come from
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mate — a partner
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. tube — the underground
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. branch — a division
  19. tube — a container
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. perch — the fish
  24. stem — of a plant

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