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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: perch · branch · degree · pound · wake · clip · tube · bank

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. clip — a video
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — a weight
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tube — a container
  20. branch — a division
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — for paper

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