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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: clip · branch · rest · chest · perch · wax · lie · content

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. rest — a break
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. clip — for paper
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. content — the amount
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. content — happy
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. clip — a video
  21. wax — to grow
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chest — a box
  24. rest — what's left

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