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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: deal · perch · temple · straw · net · branch · current · clip

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. clip — for paper
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. clip — a video
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. net — after costs
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. net — for catching
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. current — of water
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. deal — to handle
  19. branch — a division
  20. net — in sport
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. clip — to cut

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