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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fork · perch · spring · band · file · staff · court · branch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. file — a document
  3. staff — employees
  4. fork — in a road
  5. spring — the season
  6. band — a ring
  7. court — of law
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. file — a line of people
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. court — of a king
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. band — a music group
  17. spring — a coil
  18. file — a tool
  19. branch — a division
  20. spring — of water
  21. staff — a stick
  22. court — for sport
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. band — a rubber band

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