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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 · perch · bass · field · stick · rash · cell · bark

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bass — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rash — hasty
  8. field — for sport
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cell — in biology
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. field — farmland
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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