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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: perch · can · prune · degree · leaves · squash · track · file

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. can — a tin
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. file — a tool
  7. track — to keep track
  8. degree — from a university
  9. prune — to trim
  10. track — a path
  11. can — to be able to
  12. track — a song
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. squash — the sport
  15. degree — an amount
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. degree — temperature
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. can — a tin
  24. perch — for a bird

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