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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: ball · plane · branch · rush · bark · last · perch · court

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. branch — a division
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bark — to shout
  5. court — for sport
  6. last — final
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. plane — a tool
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. court — of law
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. branch — of a bank

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