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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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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: patient · squash · perch · foot · object · branch · tube · tear

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. object — to protest
  7. tear — to rip
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tube — the underground
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. squash — to crush
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. foot — a measure
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. object — an aim
  19. squash — the sport
  20. tube — a container
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. object — a thing
  24. branch — a division

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