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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: cold · net · prune · staff · face · mark · rush · present

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. staff — employees
  3. mark — a grade
  4. face — part of the head
  5. net — for catching
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — there
  10. staff — employees
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cold — an illness
  13. staff — a stick
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. present — the time now
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. present — a gift
  23. rush — hurry
  24. mark — a trace

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