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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: degree · prune · stand · fall · branch · squash · kick · trunk

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. squash — to crush
  3. branch — a division
  4. degree — an amount
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kick — in football
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stand — to bear
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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