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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: prune · trunk · pit · branch · plane · ground · hand · cap

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. hand — in cards
  3. plane — a tool
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. branch — a division
  7. pit — in a race
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pit — a hole
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cap — of ice
  13. hand — help
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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