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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: net · rash · race · pop · wave · prune · dip · bark

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. net — after costs
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bark — to shout
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pop — soda
  10. dip — to sink
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. net — in sport
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. rash — a series
  16. net — for catching
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. race — a contest
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. race — humankind

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