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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: season · trunk · game · plane · prune · branch · spell · foot

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. prune — to trim
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spell — magic
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. branch — a division
  11. spell — letters
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. game — a match
  14. foot — a measure
  15. plane — a tool
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. spell — a short time
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. prune — to trim

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