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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: bat · cell · present · foot · fan · cabinet · branch · perch

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. foot — a measure
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bat — the animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. present — a gift
  14. branch — a division
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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