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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: tear · perch · chip · scale · trunk · last · branch · hide

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — finally
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. chip — to eat
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. tear — from crying
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. last — final
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. scale — size or range
  12. branch — a division
  13. chip — for betting
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tear — to rip
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. last — to go on
  24. chip — in a computer

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