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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: cold · racket · branch · perch · rule · snap · hand · bound

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bound — tied together
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. snap — to click
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bound — obliged
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. hand — help
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. branch — a division
  17. bound — certain
  18. cold — an illness
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rule — a law
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. perch — the fish

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