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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: sharp · clip · branch · perch · temple · court · tear · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. branch — a division
  4. clip — a video
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. tear — to rip
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — for paper
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. court — of a king
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. sharp — clever
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. court — of law

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