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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: wake · perch · band · cap · content · bark · branch · scale

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. scale — in music
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. band — a ring
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cap — of ice
  12. band — a music group
  13. branch — a division
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. content — the amount
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bark — to shout
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cap — a lid
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. scale — size or range

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