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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 120 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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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 · ground · stem · fall · branch · rock · snap · net

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. net — for catching
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. snap — to click
  8. fall — the season
  9. branch — a division
  10. ground — the earth
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rock — music
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. perch — the fish
  20. net — in sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — a position
  23. rock — a stone
  24. stem — to come from

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