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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: perch · pop · branch · stick · prune · pitch · land · wind

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — soda
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pop — music
  11. pitch — completely
  12. branch — a division
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. perch — the fish
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. land — to come down

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