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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: hide · bat · squash · prune · track · branch · lie · leaves

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. prune — to trim
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. prune — to trim
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. track — a song
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. branch — a division
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. squash — to crush
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bat — the animal
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. lie — to recline
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. leaves — of a tree

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