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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: leaves · cell · track · squash · ground · lie · trunk · pitcher

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cell — in biology
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ground — the earth
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. track — a song
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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