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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 116 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: net · patient · face · prune · bark · deal · cold · rash

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. face — part of the head
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — to confront
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. deal — to handle
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. face — to point toward
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. net — for catching
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. cold — the Cold War

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