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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 · branch · bound · fan · land · bat · cap · lean

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. lean — thin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bound — obliged
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — the fish
  12. lean — to bend
  13. land — to come down
  14. branch — a division
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cap — of ice
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bound — tied together

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