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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: branch · dip · fall · current · wind · ground · chair · perch

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ground — a position
  4. wind — moving air
  5. current — of water
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. fall — the season
  12. current — electric
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fall — to drop
  15. branch — a division
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — to sink
  18. ground — crushed
  19. fall — to drop
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ground — the earth
  22. current — happening now
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wind — to turn a key

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