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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: branch · field · snap · clip · perch · wind · staff · stick

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. staff — employees
  6. field — for sport
  7. branch — a division
  8. wind — moving air
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. staff — employees
  11. wind — moving air
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. staff — a stick
  16. snap — to click
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. perch — the fish
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. clip — for paper
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. clip — a video
  24. field — a subject

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