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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 116 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 · bark · file · press · branch · wind · pop · saw

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wind — moving air
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. perch — the fish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. press — a publisher
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. pop — music
  12. press — to push
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a document
  15. pop — soda
  16. file — a tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. file — a line of people
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pop — to visit

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