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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · trunk · ground · spring · perch · kid · branch · present

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bulb — for light
  4. spring — a coil
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spring — of water
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. spring — the season
  10. present — a gift
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. ground — the earth
  13. present — there
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bulb — for light
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. present — the time now
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. branch — a division
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. ground — a position
  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