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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: branch · march · perch · pitch · rush · kid · content · ruler

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. kid — to tease
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. branch — a division
  9. kid — child
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pitch — completely
  13. march — the month
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. perch — the fish
  19. march — music
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. content — the amount
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ruler — a monarch

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