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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: content · perch · staff · trunk · roll · deal · branch · hand

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. perch — the fish
  3. content — the amount
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. content — happy
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. staff — employees
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. hand — help
  10. deal — to handle
  11. hand — in cards
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. staff — a stick
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. staff — employees
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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