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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: branch · tear · dip · perch · land · rule · date · hand

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. tear — from crying
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — from crying
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. land — to come down
  7. hand — help
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rule — a law
  10. tear — to rip
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. land — ground
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. perch — the fish
  18. dip — to sink
  19. land — a country
  20. rule — government
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hand — in cards
  23. date — the fruit
  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