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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 120 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: perch · branch · stand · bowl · kid · fall · bat · rash

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. branch — a division
  3. fall — the season
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fall — to drop
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rash — a series
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. kid — child

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